I have always been a goal setter. As far back as I can remember, I can remember having goals and then trying to reach them. From learning how to read to making certain soccer teams to when to be able to walk again after breaking my thigh all the way to sales goals when I was in sales. I just have always done it. Michael, however, has not. It’s not his fault, he just didn’t grow up thinking about intentionally going after the thing he wanted. Well, a couple of weeks ago we were able to get on the same page as a couple about where our family is going. We had the opportunity to go to Blackberry Farm for a couples retreat where we learned about how to set our priorities, go about setting goals that are in alignment with those priorities and then focus on the things that we have determined TRULY matter.  This place is AMAZING!!  Here was the view from our room: It was like a dream come true for us.  We have wanted to go to this place since we got married but couldn’t even THINK about it because of the cost.  They have incredible food, an amazing piece of land and just all around incredible amenities.  For example, here was what we came back to in our room after dinner one night: Umm, are you kidding me??  So, all that to say, the environment was one to definitely cultivate our relationship as a couple.  We spent all day Friday and a lot of Saturday learning about setting goals and then going off on our own and determining what we wanted the vision of our marriage to be as well as the qualities our family would be known for. We also spent the majority of Saturday down by the river with Michael fly-fishing and me just hanging out.  Did I mention it was 24 degrees? I got MAJOR wife brownie points.  It was just great to get to hang out together and talk or sleep or do nothing!  I could write forever about what all this retreat did for us as a family, but I won’t bore you with the details.  However, I will tell you that Michael and I determined we want to be a purpose driven, God honoring couple who by love, laughter and generosity leave a Godly legacy.  We want to be a family that stands for God, integrity, and love.  We want to create etched memories with each other and Luke (& kid to be) with romantic dinners, fun trips to the fire station and zoo, weekends away to Ro-Ro’s house, adopting a family at Christmas and taking a day trip to Dahlonega to see the Fall leaves.  All things we were able to make our priorities during this weekend away.  Now if we could just figure out a way to get to Blackberry Farm every year!

Gotta Potty

Our friends, Tague & Lisa just adopted 2 little boys from Uganda, Philip and Zach.  They are absolutely adorable.  You can read more about their incredible journey on their blog, but I wanted to share with you one of my favorite videos yet! 

They have been working on potty training with Philip but were having some difficulty understanding him when he was telling them he had to go.  Tague is incredibly creative when it comes to problem solving and he came up with a solution. So, we get this…

Fridays

One of the perks of my job is that I get Fridays off and I absolutely LOVE it. Being an introvert who needs big amounts of “Kristen” time makes it a perfect schedule for me. I am usually VERY protective of my Fridays and the way I use the time I have at home. Luke & I will play, run errands, organize, watch TV, nap, read, really anything-it’s just my day to do what I want to do. As I get further along in this pregnancy, I am also trying to make sure I am intentional about truly playing with Luke and having great times with just me and him. Treasuring every one of his giggles, his “a-wead its”, his firetruck impersonations, his love songs to his Tay- Tay , his obsessions with helmets & pea’ut butr. So, all that to say, I am looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.

What about you?