A Very Oklahoman Christmas

Happy (late) Christmas! We spent this Christmas in Oklahoma and had a fabulous time. We Enjoyed getting to spend Christmas morning with Kyrstie's family and then getting to go to her Grandparent's home to spend Christmas afternoon with all the extended family. That evening we had the opportunity to Sykpe with Jimmy's little brother, Alex. Alex is currently serving a mission for our church in the Oakland/San Francisco area. 

We left Oklahoma on the 26th and took a scenic route back to Little Rock. We stopped at Mount Magazine which is the highest point in Arkansas. We decided to do some hiking there and had a great time! It was insanely foggy, which meant we couldn't see the scenic overlooks, but it was very neat in it's own way. 

I guess I don't actually have all that much to say, but I do have a couple pictures to share. Sorry I didn't take more. I decided that rather than "capturing" the moments, I would just enjoy them. 

 On the way to Stillwater, we stopped in Prague, OK at the National Shrine Infant Jesus. It was pretty neat.

 Jimmy and Sam at the start of the hike

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And Jimmy and Sam at the end of the hike. Sam was having such a good time (in case you can't tell by the cheeseball smile on his face).

This is one of the scenic overlooks that we stopped out. The fog was so thick that it just looked like nothing-ness out there. It was really surreal.

For comparison, this is what the same overlook looks like in normal weather.

image borrowed from here

Aunt Tatyanna and Uncle Logan got Sammy a stacking giraffe for Christmas, and this boy is obsessed. He spends a good forty-five minutes at a time playing with it. It's a definite winner and I highly recommend it to anyone with a little at home.

I know she bought it at Target, but it appears to no longer be sold. you can get something similar here and here.

Jimmy was definitely well loved this trip. Sawyer really liked snuggling up to him. 

Thanks for stopping by, 

Kyrstie

An Early Christmas

Hey there! A couple days ago, we received presents in the mail from all the family....and decided that it was a sign that we should have Christmas early! Plus, we didn't want to haul all of our presents to Oklahoma. It was nice to enjoy an evening of gift giving with just the three of us.  Sam loved everything...especially ripping wrapping paper. I'm pretty sure that was his favorite part of all. Silly boy. 

Now on to pictures. Sorry this post is mostly pictures, but really that's what people care about most anyways, right? So without further ado....

 Sammy loves the fabric quiet book from Grammy

 And, of course, he loves his new toy dump truck from Grammy and Grampy

 Jimmy trying on his new TMNT socks

 "Tissue Paper!" - Sam

 Enjoying his new Sophie the giraffe books

 Yep, we're nerdy and got him an abacus. And he loves it.

 Jimmy trying out his new gopro head strap

 Yep, still playing with the abacus

 Sammy wasn't a fan of the head strap, but he looks cute!

Semi-matching TMNT socks! Thanks again, Grammy and Grampy!

Up next? Christmas with the Neely's in Oklahoma!

Until then (and Merry Christmas), 

Kyrstie

P.S. we've been receiving lots of Christmas cards and love them! Instead of sending Christmas cards, we send a family Valentines Day card...so if you think I don't have your address and want one, let me know!

The Purging Continues

Last time I posted, I said that I was going to be purging our lifestyle...starting with my closet. So, for those of you who might want to join in the fun, this is what I did.

1. I sorted all my clothes, shoes, belts, accessories, ect. into three different piles. The first was a "donate to the thrift store" pile, the second a "trash it" pile, and the third was a "keep" pile. I filled two kitchen trash bags in stuff to get rid of! 
2. I took my pile of "keep it" clothes and sorted them into a "pack away until spring/summertime" pile or "keep out because I wear all the time" pile. (I also decided to donate a few more things that I originally thought I would keep.) 
3. Next I took a look at everything I had left for my "keep" pile and decided to downsize to 33 items. I used this article as my inspiration. The basic idea is that you downsize to 33 items (not including underthings and workout clothes), for 3 months. I followed it pretty closely and feel confidant that these 3 months won't be too difficult. Even though underthings and workout clothes don't count towards the 33 things, I went ahead and got rid of a lot of things in those categories. I tend to wear the same things over and over again, so it just made sense for me. 
4. My final step (for now!) was to put everything in it's place. I typically put my underthings, socks, pjs, and workout clothes in the dresser and then hang everything else up. It saves space, especially if you're sharing a dresser (which we are), and keeps clothes less wrinkly. Plus, I like being able to see all of my clothes. When I hung all of my clothes up, I hung them up backwards, so that I could see if I was really wearing everything that I kept out. We'll see how that goes. (Thanks Aunt Amy for that idea!)

So, what did I end up keeping? Let me tell you. In list form, of course (I LOVE lists):

1. Red skirt
2. Two dresses
3. Two "cute" t-shirts
4. Three button ups
5. Four "cute" blouses
6. One black and one white tank top
7. Three cardigans 
8. Skinny jeans
9. Flare jeans
10. Wide leg jeans
11. Simple black pants
12. One gray hoodie
13. One light jacket
14. One winter coat
15. Black flats
16. Nude flats
17. Brown riding boots
18. Tom wedges
19. Two scarves

(Yes, I know that only adds up to 30 items, I'm leaving room to buy a few things.)

Now, for a couple of pictures. I wish I would of thought ahead a bit more and taken pictures of the entire process, but I got excited and forgot. Sorry! 

It's so spacious feeling!

I'm almost embarrassed by how much unnecessary stuff I had!

I also went through Sam's clothes and got rid of an entire trash bag! I didn't use the 333 principle for him. Instead, I left out enough for five outfits, three sets of pajamas, one church outfit, two sweaters, and a coat. He really doesn't need much. Especially since his usual outfit is a shirt and diaper. And now someone else will get to enjoy some cute hand-me-downs!

This week, I'm hoping to go through and get rid of extra stuff that we don't need in the living room/office/laundry room (aka junk room). Wish me luck!

If you are have trouble with editing your wardrobe, you might find these links helpful.

Wardrobe editing decision tree

How to weed out your closet

Wardrobe decision guide

30 piece wardrobe and free printable

And because I love quotes and printables...

Try it! I promise it works!

I've already noticed how much easier it is to keep our room picked up! And it's so much more relaxing and peaceful. I love it!

Until next time, 

Kyrstie

The Gillie's Simplify Life

In a recent blog post, I mentioned that I felt the need to simplify and prioritize. Well, I'm taking it to a new level. After researching (I love my research) different minimalist lifestyle ideas, I decided that it was a direction I wanted to move our family in. I talked it over with Jimmy and he agreed to it. Or at least to minimize our closets. I was primarily inspired by an article titled "Why I got rid of all my kid's clothing". It just made sense. Right after reading it, I decided that this was something I wanted to do. I'll attach a link to the article at the end of this post. There were also a significant amount of quotes that inspired and motivated me. Here are some that I particularly liked:

 I love how simply this is.

"The more you have, the more occupied you are. The less you have, the more free you are."

 - Mother Theresa

This is something that I think we all need reminding of. It's so easy to get caught up in "looking" like how we think we should be...or how we think others want us to be. 

It's easy as that, folks.

I saved my favorite for last. I absolutely love this quote. When we love everything around us, we're more likely to take care of and enjoy it. When I'm in a space that is beautiful to me, I feel more a peace and more comfortable with myself. 

Last night, after already deciding to minimize, I was doing some scripture study and read something that confirmed to me that this really is the right move for our family and home. In the LDS Handbook in the first section and read this, "Wherever Church members live, they should establish a home where the Spirit is present." I don't know about you, but I feel the spirit so much more when our home is clean and tidy and stress free. Something that I know will come from purging. It continued by sharing the scripture D&C 88:119, "Organize yourselves; prepare every needful thing; and establish a house, even a house of prayer, a house of fasting, a house of faith, a house of learning,a house of glory, a house of order, a house of God;". I've heard this scripture many times, but this time it hit me hard. I guess it all just clicked. It's not enough to have a testimony or to say prayers together. We have to do it all...including organizing and making our house a house of order. It's a necessary part of making our house a house of God. (Obviously, God doesn't expect perfection. It's a process. To me that means constantly looking for ways to improve. I can't describe how excited I am to be doing this in our house. 

Over the next couple weeks, I will probably do a few blog posts about how purging experiences. Partly for those that are actually interest, but mostly for myself. I'm looking forward to seeing how much progress we can make and I think that this will help me to remain motivated and inspired and focused on my end goal.

Here are links to the articles that I found most helpful/inspiring/motivating (Starting with the one I mentioned earlier in the post). Please don't hesitate to give advice or ask questions.

Why I got rid of all my kid's clothing 

Infographic

15 minimalist hacks to maximize your life

Top ten reasons our family wants to live with less stuff

Seven tiny steps for the beginner minimalist

Until next time, 

Kyrstie

Thanksgiving In Branson, MO

We had the opportunity this past weekend to spend Thanksgiving with all of my extended family in Branson, MO. It was so great getting to see all of our family. The post will primarily be pictures of us, but first I wanted to take a moment to say how grateful I am for the blessings I've been given in my life. Family is everything to me and I'm so grateful to have Jimmy as my husband. He is so good to me. I can't imagine a better man for me or a better father for Sam. I'm so happy that I get to be Sam's mama. Motherhood has changed me in ways that I never imagined. It's so amazing to see how he learns and grows and develops every day. I love that silly boy so much. I'm also very grateful for the atonement of Jesus Christ. I'm thankfully that Jesus willingly suffered and died and then rose again. I'm so grateful that I can return to Heavenly Father again someday. Okay, enough of my mushiness. Here's some fun pictures.

Jimmy standing in front of the Mickey Gilley Theater. No relation, but we took a picture anyway.

Sam and Remington loved playing in the jetted tub that was in the bedroom. It was ridiculously cute.

Kyrstie and Tom Hanks

Jimmy and James Bond

Us with Nick Cage. I didn't get the "pouty face" memo, apparently.

I got in bed with Hugh Hefner! Oh, my!

Jimmy had fun doing some karate with Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan.

On Friday, we went to old town and enjoyed walking around to the antique stores. In Dicks 5 &10 they had an interesting soda section. The flavors included ranch, bacon, and buffalo wings. 

We had so much fun taking pictures of Sam.

Isn't this boy the cutest?!

Playing in the leaves!

Sam got pretty attached to Grandpa during this trip. Particularly Grandpa's mustache.

Having a good time at the fish hatchery.

On the way home, we stopped at the Buffalo River National Park. We really enjoy scenic drives.

Sam loved the break from the car.

This was the amazing view of the Boston Mountains in Arkansas.

That's it for now, but I will be posting again soon. I promise!

Focus On Family

With the holiday season upon us, I have been thinking a lot about family and what it means to me. I've been so incredibly blessed with a loving husband and a cutie-pie of a son. They bring so much joy to me life. It's amazing how much those two can make me laugh. I recently read a quote from Marjorie Pay Hinckley that really got me thinking. It says, "We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at the right pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are." Lately, I've been feeling the need to simplify my own life. Too often, I find myself worrying and stressing over things that don't really matter. What matters most is family. I've decided (starting today) that I am going to make sure family comes first. A big step for me is deleting my facebook account. With it's easy accessibility, I find myself taking a few minutes here and there to peruse facebook when really I should be spending those precious few minutes playing on the floor with Sam, hugging Jimmy or doing something productive for myself like reading or sewing. So, these are my random thoughts. Bet you're glad you read this, huh? Just joking. I hope that someone got something from this. I definitely did.

Until next time,

Kyrstie