Spring and Summer

One of Havalah's graduation presents was an appointment with Laura at House of Colour to have her color season analyzed. Even when Havah was around eight nine years old I can remember her telling me that she didn't enjoying wearing this or that color because she thought it might clash with her hair color.  So I knew that this experience would be right up her alley. Coincidentally a few weeks before the appointment Laura called me to go over a few details, and before I realized what I was doing, I was booking my appointment at the same time as Havah's lol.  It was a splurge, but I keep telling myself (and Jon!) that it'll save money in the long run since I'll hopefully no longer buy clothes that don't do anything for my skin tone.

Laura began by draping silk, colored cloths across H's shoulders to first identify if she was a cool or  warm season.  After identifying warm/cool (in Havah's case, cool) Laura then began draping either summer or winter colors, going both fast and slow to see how Havah's complexion changed.  It was easily apparent that Havah was cool, and also that she looks nicer in the lighter of the cool colors, which put her in the summer category! We had both thought she might be a summer, so we were happy to be right haha.  Laura then did a makeover on Havah using colors from her palette, which was really fun.  We bought Havah a lipstick and a blush, and both look amazing on her pretty, cool toned summer skin.  

Next it was my turn! I've been told my whole life that I'm a summer, so fully expected to be identified as a summer.  Laura struggled with me for quite awhile, specifically to identify if I was cool or warm.  It came down to the greens, which showed that I tend to look better in a warm green, rather than a cool green. Yada yada yada, I'm a SPRING! Specifically a blue spring.  This means that the blues in my season are my best colors.  This kind of rocked my world, honestly, haha.  I never knew that I was warm toned, and I usually purchase cool toned clothing and makeup.  Finally I also had a makeover and purchased a lipstick that's in my palette.  I struggle to find a good lip color all on my own, but I'm now wearing this warm toned one confidently. :D

We had such a nice time together, and meeting the adorable Laura.  I haven't yet purged my closet of the colors that aren't necessarily complimentary, but going forward I'm trying to shop within my season.  Such fun.  :)

Y'all, we have a graduate! Alternate title, We Did It! :D

Graduation is such a special time, but honestly, for a homeschooling mom/teacher/lead learner, I think it is extra thrilling. All those years ago, when it was time to think about sending Havalah off to pre-k, this former classroom teacher and her husband looked at each other and said, "what if...." Many, many, MANY prayers, and 14 years of homeschooling later and we have a high school graduate on our hands.  I couldn't be more proud of this wonderful, hardworking, precious girl.  

We were fortunate to have Grandma and Grandpa fly in from Chicago for the graduation festivities, which included a graduation dinner at Taste of Texas, a church graduation ceremony, and an end of year celebration with our homeschooling co-op Classical Conversations. 

Last January Havalah made the best decision for her and opted out of the city wide homeschooling (traditional) graduation ceremony deciding instead to keep things on a smaller scale celebrating with our church group and co-op. We had no idea what to expect from the ceremony at church, but it was so well done. It was a luncheon that began with a slide show of each of the kids, followed by each of the parents sharing some words of wisdom to their child, then most kids stood up to talk about what's next for them, and finally our youth pastor (pictured below with Havalah) shared a special message.  Unfortunately I didn't take any photos from the end of year CC celebration, but I did grab a screen shot from a video. It was a lovely weekend of celebrating this milestone, and my heart was/is ready to burst with pride for my darling Havah. 

The photos are a little out of order, but wanted to share some fave pics both from her senior photo session, but also our weekend celebrating! :)

Birthday stuff

We had such a nice day celebrating our wonderful 19 year old.  After breakfast (sausage biscuits, yum) Havah and I headed out to pick up her favorite boba tea and then intended to head to Barnes and Noble for some book browsing.  However they don't open until noon on Sundays, so we ran a few errands instead (harbor freight wasn't in the birthday plan but she rolled with it ;).  Lunch out at our fave sushi spot, Kuri Sushi, which we were happy to see was as full of people as it has always been.  (Does it make anyone else so happy to see crowds of people living their lives?) After lunch we headed to the city pool, to hang out for a few hours. One of the things we like about this particular pool is they are the only one around here that still has diving boards. (Is that the case where you live?)  Havah and I mostly floated around watching Jon and Henry jump/dive/flip off the diving boards.  Side note: were laughing at how it's (mostly) all boys who love to get up there and show off.  After swimming we headed home, turned up the k-pop and all pitched in to make her fave birthday dinner, Larry's chicken.   Top off the night with maple walnut birthday cake (made entirely by the birthday girl), presents, and Downton Abbey, and it was a really special day for a really special girl.  

Happy Birthday, Havah!

Happy 19th Birthday, to my darling Havalah Ruth! It is my greatest joy to pause and celebrate this precious soul, my wonderful Havalah. Havah, your joy and inner beauty radiate from your face.  God is, and will continue to do wonderful things through you, my darling girl. Another year more amazing, another year more loved.

                                      We love you forever,

                                                      your mama

And these are some of her current faves. Take it away, Halla! :)

1. Favorite animal: Lion

2. Favorite color: Currently a tie between rose pink and hydrangea

3. Favorite OC (original character): Lysander (the protagonist of her novel-in-progress, Foxhunt)

4. Favorite food(s): "Larry's chicken," a unique fried chicken recipe that's special to our family

5. Favorite drink: Any form of matcha green tea

6. Favorite dessert: Texas sheet cake

7. Favorite thing to cook/bake: Anything involving pie dough

8. Favorite restaurant: Tie between Red Robin, Carmelo's Mexican Grill, and Taste of Texas

9. Favorite hobby: Writing

10. Favorite book: Pride and Prejudice

11. Favorite movie: The Lion King (1994)

12. Favorite TV show: Pride and Prejudice (1995)

13. Favorite male fictional character: Mr. Darcy

14. Favorite female fictional character: Jo March

15. Favorite music artist: BTS

16. Favorite song: "Dear Me" by Nichole Nordeman

17. Favorite artist: Thomas Cole

18. Favorite vacation destination: Tie between England and Disney World

19. Favorite school subject: Literature

20. Favorite thing to wear: Tie between a cute, comfortable sweater, a sturdy wide-brimmed hat, and the perfect pair of jeans

21. Most prized possessions: Her stuffed lamb, her Warren (another of her characters) plush, her Bible, her Austen books

22. Favorite thing about being 18: Tie between getting to vote, being able to sign up for various birthday rewards, and graduating high school

23. Funniest thing you can think of: Her favorite meme, which says, ""My babies!" I scream at a group of men who are actually older than me."

24. Goals for the next year: Spend more time getting to know God, finish the first draft of Foxhunt and outline the next draft, get an article published somewhere, get a poem published somewhere

25. Best memories from the last year: Being at Disney World with the Sherwoods, relaxing at the Hyatt Hill Country Resort, exploring Fredericksburg and Luckenbach, just being in her room on a warm, sunny afternoon

A Mother Daughter Christmas Brunch

A few weeks ago Havalah and I hosted a mother daughter Christmas brunch.  We had such a fun time being together with these friends, and getting caught up.  The girls all brought a gingerbread house to decorate, and Havalah planned some Christmas ice breaker questions as well. 

In true Kristen fashion I agonized over my menu until calling in the big guns, Whitney, party planner extraordinaire. She sent me so many great ideas, including how to host a brunch on a budget.  I am doing you a HUGE favor when I tell you you have to try her Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Smokies. A couple of the girls who attended were overheard saying the smokies were "literally the best thing I've ever eaten." So yeah, you gotta make 'em.

Our menu:

Fruit Platter

Mini Quiches

Mini Muffins

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones

GF Scones

Christmas Cookies

Bagels and Cream Cheese

Cracker Barrel's Hashbrown Bake

Brown Sugar Bacon Wrapped Smokies

Hot Chocolate Bar

Juice, Tea, and Coffee

Here's what I learned, my friends don't eat very much, haha, but my daughter's friends weren't afraid to dig in.  I made way too much food for the ten of us, (I will say that I was expecting four others who had to cancel at the last minute).  Next time, I'll keep it simpler.  ;)

We had such a great time, and I'm so thankful that Havah and I were able to kick off the Christmas season with something so special. There's been talk of making this an annual get together, so we shall see! :)

I forgot to take many pics, sadly, but I did get a few...

Five things making me happy today :)

These four glassybaby were a gift a bought myself after finishing my two year directing contract with CC. They are hero, wisdom, miracle, and zen. I would like to add triumph sometime soon :)

Celebrating Havalah!

Happy 18th Birthday, Havah Ruth!

The Birthday Girl!!

Happy Birthday, Havalah! Thank you for making me a mama, and for bringing more joy and love and FUN into our lives than we ever knew was possible.  I am so proud of the confident, artistic, kind, and intelligent (to name a few :) young lady you are today.  I love you forever and always and thank you for making the last seventeen years my favorite years.  Happy birthday, beautiful girl!

things that describe Havah from her friends at a co-op team building activity

Happy Sweet 16!

Happy sweet 16 Halla! You make every day like Christmas morning.  Having you as a daughter is such a precious, precious gift.  You are the most hilarious, smart, and beautiful (inside and out) girl.  

And as is tradition, here are some of her current faves:

Favorite book series - Redwall

Favorite past time - Drawing

Favorite sport to watch - Football

Favorite thing to cook or bake - Biscuits

Favorite food to order at a restaurant - Monte Cristo sandwich

Favorite drink - Boba tea

The funniest thing you can think of - Dad’s funny faces

Where you would like to go on vacation - Disney World

Favorite restaurant - Red Robin

Favorite subject in school and why - Writing, because I find it fun and challenging

Favorite animal - Lion

Favorite season and why - Fall, because it starts to get cold, we start thinking about Christmas, we get to wear warm clothes

Favorite holiday and why - Christmas, because it’s cozy, because of all the yummy food, because i like present shopping

Favorite thing to do on a Saturday morning - sit with family in the living room/watch morning news

Favorite song - “Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons

Favorite movie - the lion king

Favorite tv show - ducktales

Favorite flower - pink rose

Favorite color - pink

Favorite food - fried chicken

Happy Birthday my darling girl!! I love you forever.

Birthday Fun!

We had such a fun time celebrating my girlie's birthday a few weeks ago.  My kids are at the age where we pretty much let them decide how they might like to spend their special days.  We give them a choice between having a party or a special experience.  As they get older they tend to lean toward special experiences.  This year we offered Havah a few choices, and she ultimately selected to do the dolphin interaction at Sea World.  If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you might remember when we were in Maui we swam in the actual ocean with actual wild dolphins, (coolest experience in the entire world, e-v-e-r), but we've never purchased a dolphin encounter since it's usually pricey.  The Sea World interaction was actually affordable and ended up being even better than expected. I'm SO happy she chose to do this, it was perfect for her!

So, here's a peek at her special day, followed by her time at Sea World!

We made her cake together this year.  She chose a cheesecake with Circus Animal crust, chunks of circus animals (that sounds too funny!) and white chocolate ganash icing.  Yummmmm.

Happy 15th Birthday, Little Beauty!

Halla, you are such a light! I am tremendously proud of my creative, intelligent, thoughtful, and loving girl. Every single day you become more and more of a joy to us.  Thank you for changing our world for the better 15 years ago and making these past 15 years the very best of our lives. I am  confident that you will do great things in your lifetime and I feel so fortunate to be your Mama. I love you forever, my darling girl! Mwahhh!

A few things that she is currently loving:
Favorite pastime: reading
Favorite food(s): fried chicken, Pringles, sushi
Favorite restaurant(s): Red Robin, Chachos, Larry's Chicken, Cheddar's, Kelley's
Favorite dessert: ice cream, cake, pie
Favorite movie: The Lion King
Favorite song: "Try Everything"
Favorite school subject: Science
Favorite book series (currently): Wings of Fire
Favorite color: pink
Favorite vacation spot: Walt Disney World
Favorite animal: lion
Favorite thing to do on a Saturday: spend time with Mum and Dad
Favorite TV show: The Lion Guard
Favorite past birthday memory: parasailing
Favorite tea: Green
Favorite sport: tennis
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Favorite thing to bake: pies
Favorite app: Club Penguin Island

December photo project - Christmas traditions

 The gumdrop tree - one of our favorites!

 

December photo project - Christmas shopping

{Christmas shopping with my favorite girl}

October at a glance

October always starts off right with Mr. Henry's birthday!  (He deserves a post all his own later on.) To add to the October fun, this year we also had a visit from Grandma Judy!  It was a busy busy BUSY month :)

If you come visit us, we will most likely take you to Galveston.  Grandma Judy is a bonafide beach lover, so to the beach we go!

This girl knows just what to do.  I've always told her she is part mermaid :-)

This little Scottie girl loves the sand!

Jon and Henry's new favorite thing to do!  

Only two days to go!

Henry's cake!  He requested chocolate with orange frosting :-) More about Henry's birthday to come in a later post...

I had to take a few pics with the birthday boy!  He's so full of energy and craziness! I love love LOVE him.


One of Henry's presents was to go to Kemah Boardwalk, home to the Boardwalk Bullet roller coaster.

This is literally what his hair looked like after getting off the Bullet!  Ha ha ha!

Henry's latest Rubik's Cube - in a heart pattern. ♥

Some of you know that my Dad spent a few years living in Texas as a little boy.  His father, who was an Army band leader, was stationed in Brownsville, Texas.  My Dad had many wonderful memories in Texas, including visiting San Antonio.  We felt it fitting to take Judy there to tour the Alamo and walk around the city a bit.  What a lovely time we had together reminiscing about my Dad.

I love you, Judy!

Always a stop at Buc-ee's on the way!

Something you need to know about Havalah. She has wanted to run her own business since she was about six years old.  By the age of seven she was begging for her own Etsy shop.  She has run every single garage sale we've had for the past five years - from organizing to selling.  This fall we finally started a little mother daughter business, making and selling embroidered necklaces.

We are a week away from our first craft fair and everyone is helping out.  The kids hate it (times a million) when Jon wears these reader glasses that his Dad gave him, but Havah *allowed* him to wear them since he was working so hard with the jewelry findings.  

Our first Craft Fair! Yay!

It went really well!  It was a great learning experience and now we know the ropes a little bit.  We are trying hard to get our Etsy shop fully up and running.  Thank you SO much to those who have purchased a pendant for yourself or for a gift!  XOXOXO

A few years ago the kids took over my holiday decorating.  I love seeing what they come up with. It is way more creative than anything I do!

And right at the end of the month, we squeezed in a trip to the pumpkin/animal farm. Sweet lil pumpkin's! We are heading back there this month to pick strawberries.

Jon's birthday! With a chocolate chip calzone to celebrate.  He's pretty adored around here.

I had a lovely birthday as well.  I managed to get up early to see the sunrise.  Pink!

And another Halloween on the books :)  This year we had a wolf princess and a gorilla.  It ended up being a very hot, muggy Halloween night, so both kids were ready to peel off their costumes after about an hour of trick or treating.

Which left PLENTY of time for candy trading!