1) Shopping With Kaitlynn
This girl. She turned 9 last week and chose going to the mall (+ manicures!) as her Mother-Daughter birthday date. She agonized over finding just the right pair of earrings at Claire’s and the perfect shade of lipstick at Sephora.
While she is my mini me in so many respects, in other respects we could not be more opposite — like when it comes to all things jewelry, fashion, and makeup.
I go into Claire’s and Sephora and feel so overwhelmed by all the options that I want to leave immediately. She goes into those stores and sees a world of beauty and possibility just waiting to be discovered and tried out. I love the creativity, artistry, energy, and love of beauty she brings into our home and lives.
2) Free Audiobooks From the Library
We’ve been investigating audiobook site memberships recently because our whole family has really gotten into listening to audiobooks — both separately and together (especially while driving in the car to and from swimming and skating). We were going to try out the free 3-month Audible subscription, but then we realized that we’d probably get more bang for our buck with a subscription to ChristianAudio.com.
I was sharing about this on my new daily money-saving live show on FB and a few viewers suggested we look into our local library to see if they happen to offer a free audiobook service. We were THRILLED to discover that they do and it’s SO easy to access. Plus, they have an amazing selection of audiobooks… for FREE! Score!
I started Big Magic today and am really, really enjoying it so far. I can’t wait to enjoy a lot of other titles in the coming weeks and months — both personally and as a family.
3) A Baby Picture of My Husband
It’s hard to believe that’s my husband. That little baby in the incubator, born at 27 weeks because his mom had an incompetent cervix, weighing less than two pounds… That’s the strong, resilient, energetic man I’m married to.
There are days when I get frustrated at him. I say harsh words. I have to ask forgiveness. I take him for granted.
And then I find a picture like this in our memory box and I catch my breath and remember what a miracle it is that he’s even alive!
How often I can get caught up in the tasks and to-do’s of life and take the precious people in my life for granted. And then a picture like this reminds me that all the productivity in the world is never as important as the people in my life. I want to hold them tight and love them well today.
4) Pineapple Mint Water
This week’s flavored water of choice: Pineapple Mint. So refreshing!
Aldi had pineapple for 99 cents and we have mint in our container garden, so this was an especially frugal infused water option. It’s amazing how inspired we are to drink more water when it’s all “fancy” like this!
5) Indoor Rock Climbing
This year, I’ve challenged myself to jump out of my comfort zone and try new things: weight-lifting, live video on Periscope and Facebook Live, traveling to two new countries by myself, snow-boarding, and hand-lettering… and this week I joined SnapChat (I’m crystal.paine there and I have no idea what I’m doing so you can laugh along with me as I try to figure it out! 
) and my husband and I went on a date to an indoor rock climbing place.
It was my first time to try indoor rock wall climbing and we had a lot of fun trying it out together. It was especially memorable because the A/C was out in the building and it was a really hot day… so that made the workout a little more intense. 
In trying these new things, here’s what I’m learning: I’m not going to love everything new I attempt, but challenging myself to get brave and just jump out and try — even when it scares me or I think I won’t like it or be good at it — has stretched me as a person and shown me that I’m stronger than I think I am.
Best of all, I’ve discovered a few things I absolutely love that I never thought I would and would have never known that I would fall in love with them had I not tried them and stuck with them for a few weeks (i.e. weight-lifting and live video).
I’ve missed out on a lot in life by sitting on the sidelines in the safe zone. I don’t want to camp out there anymore! There’s a world of excitement and thrill and color just waiting to be discovered… Right outside my comfort zone!
What are YOU loving this week? Tell us in the comments!
