Welcome to my weekly recap post where I share a little peek into our week, share some links to podcasts and posts I don’t want you to miss, and highlight some things you may have missed on the blog this week.
Our All-Day Family Christmas
We celebrated our All Day Family Christmas yesterday — the day that our older kids basically plan everything for, including what we do, what we eat, and the order of events!
If you’re new here, we go to Kansas for a week for Christmas so we started this tradition of doing a family Christmas celebration before Christmas so that we get to enjoy special memories here together in TN, too! We had four friends join us for parts of the day, which was special! Read more about the day and see a number of pictures here on Instagram.
Kathrynne’s First Semester of College
I closed out this year on The Crystal Paine Show by bringing back a familiar voice – my daughter, Kathrynne! In this episode, we reflect on Kathrynne’s first semester of college, exploring the highs, lows, and the valuable lessons learned. From the challenges of living independently to the joys of making new friends, Kathrynne shares her perspective on the transition from high school to college life.
We take a dive into her initial uncertainty about the chosen college, the surprising ease of making acquaintances, and the deeper bonds forged over time. Kathrynne offers practical advice for upcoming college students, emphasizing the importance of intentional connections, reaching out to others, and starting good habits early on.
She candidly shares her experience with procrastination on a major History project, highlighting the crucial lesson she learned in managing time effectively. We also touch on the impact of faith in college, the challenges of maintaining relationships while in different schools, and the overall growth and self-discovery that come with this transformative journey.
I’m so grateful Kathrynne was willing to join me again to share on the podcast and I hope that this episode encourages you — no matter where you are in life, that God is faithful to provide, that community is worth investing in, and sometimes what you think is just a small stepping stone turns out to be the path you’re supposed to be on for longer than just a short season. Listen to the podcast episode here.
Also related: I reflect on some things I’ve learned this first semester of Kathrynne being in college here.
Other Links You Might Be Interested In:
- David Became a Paine One Year Ago — I reflect on some things we’ve learned in our journey of fostering and adopting him, plus share why there are mixed emotions on this day.
- Making Time for What Matters Most — I had the privilege of having my interview with Focus on the Family Chosen for the Best of the Year series and it re-aired again this past week. If you missed it when it came out earlier in the year, you can listen here.
- Parenting With Grace — I was honored to be interviewed on the Moms in Prayer podcast sharing encouragement for moms to have less stress and more joy in their parenting, what it looks like to parent from a place of reliance upon the Holy Spirit, and go into your day anxiously anticipating how God is going to show Himself strong on your behalf. Listen here.
- My Friend Kate Got Engaged!!! — After 20 years of waiting and praying, it was a pretty epic night! Read more of her story here.
Are You Signed Up for My Personal Email Newsletter?
Every Saturday morning, I send out a newsy personal letter from me sharing what books I’m reading (and very honest reviews of them!) products and resources I’m loving, what movies/shows we’re watching, plus insider news, thoughts, and recommendations I only share with my email subscribers. If you’re not subscribed, you are missing out!
In this week’s email newsletter, I’m sharing Christmas movies we watched this past week, a few books I finished and my honest thoughts on them, a game we played a loved this past week, a recipe my kids LOVE that I made for our All-Day Family Christmas and am also making for Christmas brunch with my family, plus first-word news on some pretty big stuff I’m changing on the blog in 2024 (I’ll share here soon, but my newsletter subscribers get first dibs on the announcement! It’s good stuff, by the way, and I think it will allow me to serve you all better!)