Hey y’all, it’s Rebekah again! I am excited to share my thoughts on this month’s theme, “Larger Than Life”. *cue the Backstreet Boys song*

I can remember probably around 2000 when I went of my first mission trip to Honduras with my church. That is probably when I first fell in love with international travel. I have seen several places that I would consider to be “Larger Than Life”, so I wanted to share those with you today.

Swiss Alps: Switzerland is hands down my favorite country I’ve ever visited. I highly recommend going on a cable car ride through the Alps. I promise, it’s the purest air that I have ever breathed. It was just something about being able to relax in Switzerland that gave me a calming thought as I visited a couple of summers ago. I cannot wait to go back! The views are breathtaking!

The Vatican: WOW is one word that comes to mind. The Vatican is MASSIVE. I grew up in a small town and a small church. Don’t get me wrong; I love my hometown and my home church. However, it was truly impressive to see such a sprawling church and location in Rome. The architecture and design was like nothing I had ever seen before. I was speechless as I walked through the doors into this place. I learned so much about Italian culture and why so many people visit the Vatican every year.

Shanghai, China

The Bund is an awesome waterfront walkway and area in the heart of Shanghai. When I visited a couple of Christmases ago, it was easy to see why people love this city. The lights shine bright and the scenes are beautiful. Be sure to take lots of pictures of Pearl Tower. If you know me at all, you know I love shopping. You can find just about anything you’re looking for in Shanghai. It’s so awesome to be able to see other cultures and how they go about their daily lives.

You see, the world truly is “larger than life,” and I can’t wait to take more trips and explore. See you next week for a day in the life of Rebekah 😉

Hey guys! This is my final post as March Blogger of the Month. Thank you so much for allowing me to share with you. If you blog, or are interesting in blogging and are not a member of Arkansas Women Bloggers, I encourage you to check us out. The conferences are a blast and I always come home with a wealth of information.

Today I am going to take you back in time. My posts are somewhat dated, but that reminds me why I started blogging in the first place. There may be moments you hope to forget, but there are so many more that you want to capture and hold on to. Writing the words that go with life’s pictures is one of the best ways of doing that. My babies are growing right before my eyes. I’ve really enjoyed looking back and reading these older posts and I hope you will too. Taking a moment to read these stories was all it took to get me back in the moment. It’s fun to see the “then” and compare it to the “now”.

Sometimes You Gotta Dance 

Evenings at home with littles can be hectic. This particular evening turned out to be one of those.

 

 

Silent Night, Holy…SMOKES 

A night and smell we will never forget.

 

 

Outstanding in the Field 

I have learned so much since this experience. This dinner may have sparked my love for farm-to-table and truly caring about knowing where my food comes from. I absolutely adored this event and hope to go again someday.

 

 

When Life Gives You Pimientos 

I may or may not still feel the same about pre-shredded cheese, but it’s good stuff either way.

 

 

Overwhelmed with Awesome 

Oh goodness, how things have changed in the social media world since my very first AWB conference! But so many things are tried and true and relationships have grown. For me, it took going out on a limb to go to this conference. And guess what? The limb didn’t break.

 

Although we are several years down the road, our family experiences similar adventures and hair-pulling moments. As Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr said, “the more things change, the more they stay the same”. (Yes, I had to Google who said that. How did we survive before Google?)

Have a happy HEALTHY day!

 

“Mom, I need socks!”

“Can you braid my hair?”

“Watch where you step, there’s doodle in the hallway.”

“Will someone let Lucy out?”

“Will someone let Pepper in? Wait! She’s covered in grass!”

“What can I eat?”

“Who made God?”

“Eeeeew! Somebody forgot to flush!”

When hanging out at the Coffee house, you may hear any of these statements once or multiple times throughout the day.

While being a stay-at-home mom, my schedule changes day to day. I have made myself move to a paper planned life, otherwise, I believe myself and my children would miss out on several activities. It’s hard for me to describe a day in the life at this stage. Each day is different. When not working a regularly scheduled job, life is somewhat on the fly. Of course, I do schedule and plan activities, but I do feel like many days I’m “flying by the seat of my pants”.

Some days I get my workout done before I wake my crew, and some days I workout after getting the kiddos to school. Whatever the case, I take pride in making sure everyone starts his or her day by eating breakfast. I wish I could insert “healthy” before the word breakfast, but some days that is not the case. Nourishment. Calories. Energy. That’s what I’m hoping…

I mentioned before that being a stay-at-home mom was not something I planned on doing. It has been a blessing in so many ways. I appreciate the days that I pick up the girls and hear about what is going on at school. Count me in for field trips and school parties! The many hours I spend working on the farmers’ market effort wouldn’t be a possibility if I were working outside the home. My husband’s office is in town and we are able to go to lunch together once or twice a week. These are all things I try my best not to take for granted.

I also work to maintain my professional licensure. This may or may not consist of doing my required hours of continuing education right before the deadline.

One of my main focuses this past year was training for an Ironman race – Ironman Arizona. Initially, the training distances were not long, and if I was able to get the workout in early, it didn’t really impact the day. The swim workouts required an hour round-trip each time, and I would typically do two swim workouts weekly. Closer to race day, the bike training would require anywhere from 6-8 hours. This was often on the weekend. I had a lot of mommy-guilt, but I will hand it to my crew – they were troopers. There were times I would take the girls to the pool with me and bribe them with snacks and activities and threaten them not to kill each other while I was in the water. There were times that I would have to join them later instead of going all together to this and that. There were many times I would have to go sans makeup and hair pulled back when I would normally dry my hair and put on make-up. And they loved me through it.

Yes, day-to-day life is fast and furious. I’m hanging on with all my might to take each day as it comes and holding on to precious memories.

Besides, sleep is overrated, right?

 

by Jodi Coffee, Miss March 2016

I have come to accept that I have a type-A personality living in a type-B world. Maybe it’s selective type A-ism. I don’t know. I thought I would share five things that I want MY way. This is not an end-all be-all list, and tomorrow’s list may be different (I reserve that right), but here you go.

Number one: toilet paper

This is an issue we have all seen and know well.

The paper rolling under is unacceptable and must be corrected immediately.

Number two: cooking in the kitchen

This is a matter I have had to work on since welcoming the littles into the kitchen for hands-on experience. It’s almost as if I need to do these together-activities with my hands behind my back. It is so challenging for me to let go of certain steps. But when I hear myself directing them out-loud, it does seem micro-managing and ridiculous. I’m working on this, folks.

Number three: laundry

Not a fan of this gift that keeps on giving. Of course, it must be done.

I line-dry all dry-fit/high tech materials, delicates and the girls’ school uniform shirts. I turn things inside out and button when needed. Nothing too complicated, but I cannot accept my hub’s offer to dump all of the clothes from the washer to the dryer. Just cannot do it.

Number four: washing dishes

I hand wash a lot of our dishes. Cooking is one of my specialties, so I have found it faster to wash them quickly and have them ready to go versus waiting for a full load of dishes to run the washer. Oh, the dishwasher gets used, but certain items never go in. I always hand wash my pots and pans, wooden spoons, knives, Tervis tumblers, measuring utensils…okay, so my list is too long. See. You just gotta let me do it. Thankfully, the hubs is my dish drying partner. Love that guy.

Number five: mug matters

In regards to drinking coffee and tea, the mug matters.

Coffee at home:

Coffee on the go:

Tea (green tea + honey = heaven):

 

Please don’t think I’m crazy. Remember? Type A-isms. My life is far from perfect and although I have preferences, I try and embrace the crazy. The spills, the eggshells, the towels folded in a ball. Yes, I may re-fold it later, but in the moment, I love it. I hold in disbelief daily that three little girls want to be just like me. And yes, I accept coffee in any shape or form.  

My month as Miss February is coming to an end. I am sad and happy all at the same time. I am sad because it’s over but I’m happy because it was fun writing all of these posts and sharing a little bit of my life with you!

Today I am going to share with you some of my favorite posts from my blog. These are in no particular order…

1. Mom. This is post all about my Mom, duh. I don’t share too much about her on my blog or even in my personal life unless I know you very well. This was a tough post to write.

2. Maroon 5 in Vegas. This was a once in a lifetime kind of trip and worth every penny. Plus I got to ring in the New Year with two of my besties!!

3. Lion King. My very first solo trip. Also the same day I got Invisalign!

4. Girl’s Game Night In! Perhaps the most fun I have ever had writing a sponsored blog post.

5. Megaphone Summit 2016. My very first The Women’s Blogger Conference!!