We are Kristin and Jennifer, sisters and best friends, looking to share our stories, advice, and love to inspire and support others.
When we started this journey to write – hoping to spread a little wisdom, laughter, or any useful tidbit to make people’s lives a little bit easier – we didn’t fully imagine what our “story” would be, and we still don’t! Everyone’s journey is different, and we have collectively experienced so much in our lives.
As children we were two peas in a pod and basically lived the same life. As adults, however, our lives went in completely different directions.
Between the two of us, we know what it is to have a happy childhood, a home broken by divorce, restoration and healing from God, miscarriages, infertility, marriage, heartache and loneliness, a husband deployed, working outside the home, working from home, raising children, managing a household, having financial stability, and at times having no idea where the rent due next week is going to come from.
Despite our different paths – the awesome highs and low lows, the failures and successes – we both feel at this point in our lives that we are happy, healthy, and have achieved great balance in life.
We don’t have it all figured out by any means, but we believe that we have something to offer. We believe that God can use our stories and experiences for His glory and for your blessing. We want to take what we have learned and experienced and use it to spread some wisdom, joy, laughter, and light to as many as God puts in our path.
Our commitment to anyone who comes across any of our words is to be honest and sincere. Sometimes life is serious, sometimes it’s not. We like to laugh and joke, but we also believe in tough love. We’ve surrounded ourselves with people in our lives who have challenged us, inspired us, and held us accountable.
There are so many ways we hope to lead others to having a little more peace, comfort, hope, or stability… Whether it’s product recommendations, advice, a word of encouragement, or just a funny story, we want to bring a little bit of it all.
Kris & Jen
Now for Some Random Details…
Biggest Irrational Fear
Jen- Hot air balloons, though I could argue that this is VERY rational. Just Google something like “hot air balloon disasters,” and I’m sure you’ll agree!
Kris- Centipedes!!! I’m seriously phobic.
Favorite Food
Jen – Burgers
Kris- Pasta
Random Thing I’m Really Good At
Jen- Badminton
Kris- Bowling, or at least I used to be. High game is a 212.
Favorite Quote
Jen- “Never give up what you want most for what you want now.”
Kris- “With the God of the universe on your side, who can stand against you?”
Dumbest Way I’ve Been Injured
Jen – Knocked myself in the head with a curling iron getting ready once, only to realize hours later that I had dried blood streaming all the way down the side of my head and didn’t know it.
Kris- I was standing on the arm of the couch when I was 6 years old, fell off, and broke my wrist. The floor was lava, so clearly I had to be standing on the couch…
Dream Vacation Destination
Jen- New Zealand
Kris- Hawaii
Worst Habit
Jen- I still bite my nails often.
Kris- I don’t unpack after trips for about 2 weeks (and my husband would say it’s much longer… he might be right).
Least Favorite Chore
Jen- Laundry! It was my biggest struggle in college when I only had myself to worry about, so now having to keep up with laundry for a family of 6 seems like a mean joke that just never ends…
Kris- Dishes. Thank God for dishwashers, but I still dread it. I hand washed thousands of dishes when I was a bartender – so many that by age 28 I felt my lifetime of dish washing should surely be fulfilled (it wasn’t).
Jennifer
I feel like I embody the typical work-from-home mom, trying to balance my desire to earn some income and feel fulfilled, while also not giving up time with my children. In a society that seems to encourage more selfish pursuits through your 20’s, I instead married at 22 and had 4 children within 8 years, while also losing 3 babies along the way. I have devoted my life to my husband and children, and I have zero regrets about this decision.
I of course have moments where I feel overwhelmed that I’ll never get it all done, times where there is one or more kids who are sick while another needs homework help and another needs a ride to soccer practice, etc, etc. And I have certainly had times where I have had to lock myself in my bathroom for some “me time.” However, it is in these moments that I’ll hear the echo of my children laughing or see little fingers poking underneath the door, that I realize it is all so worth it.
Despite my moments of insanity and the fact that I definitely lose my cool at times, I feel that as a whole being a mom is a very natural fit for me. I don’t feel as though I struggle quite to the extent that others seem to, and so it would mean so much to me if I could share stories or write articles that will encourage and help these moms.
I was told by every English teacher I ever had growing up that I needed to be a writer one day, so I guess you could say that I am finally following through with this. I am also so excited for this blog and the opportunity to be creative and have a voice, which is something I have missed while staying home with kids.
I am excited to share the beautiful choas that is my life, and I hope that others will relate and will feel encouraged when times get hard. Being a mom is truly the most important job in the world, and I hope to empower as many moms as I can!
Kristin
My story is, “Good things come to those who wait.” Through many contributing experiences, the theme of my life has been patience and surrender. I graduated college when the economy was bad, and my seemingly worthless degree provided no employment for many years. I worked horrible, unthinkable jobs, and have been told many times to write an entire book just about my work life alone.
I met my husband at 30 years old, while living in a community that treats you like an old maid if you are single past 22. I waited for him and prayed for him, and had my heart trampled a few times along the way, but I always refused to settle. Since we have gotten married, my waiting to be with my husband hasn’t come to an end. He and I have spent much time apart during our marriage due to him working in Iraq, but the time we get together is heightened and never taken for granted.
I wanted to have kids from pretty much the day I turned 20. My sister, Jennifer, had kids young (thank God), because I was shown the unmatched joy of being “Auntie.” I have 4 nieces and 2 nephews (with my brother’s children included), and they have taught me a level of love I had never known. My husband and I have been unsuccessfully trying to have a baby for over 2 years (we are always waiting for something, huh?), and motherhood is one blessing that God has not yet brought into my life, but I am confident that HE will.
Life to me is not about the next blessing, the next job, the next house, the next kid, but looking to the many things that we all have to be grateful for at any given moment. Waiting has been the greatest challenge and blessing of my life. I appreciate all things so much more because they didn’t (or still haven’t) come easily. I wouldn’t change a thing! Anyone looking for an “easy” life is missing out on the beautiful, complicated, perfect story that God has written for you.