Memorial Day 2014

Memorial Day 2014 was an eventful one around these parts.  Bethany (My sister in law) wanted to build the boys a tire swing to have fun on this summer.  So, the day was made up of cooking out, hanging out, laughs, and spending time watching the guys make this tire swing project come to life.

Now, let me explain what you are seeing in this picture.  Our friend, Jeremy, is hanging in the air (literally) while trying to get the swing up and going.  And if you are wondering how he got to this point, well let me just explain.

Insert Mississippi thinking.

It included a homemade harness and a truck, and up he went.  Simple as that.  Or so we thought. He actually got STUCK in the tree and we ended up having to go get a large ladder to get him down.  It really did scary for a few minutes.  

Well, after a good cookout and all our bellies were full, it was back to working on the tire swing.  It all went up and going and then my sweet husband broke it.  

Yes, I said broke it.

You see, somehow they didn't use the right something or another and the link holding the chain snapped.  Yes, ouch. 
But guess who caught it on camera? :)


After all the events, it turned out okay to see these smiles.

Hope you and your family had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Happy Birthday MR. MISSISSIPPI

It's a mighty special day around the White House, no not that White house.  It's Mr. White's birthday! And I must say, he is getting even more gorgeous with age! 

 

 

Brian, thank you for being the man that I waited my whole life for.  Thank you for being there for me when times were good AND bad these last three years.  Thank you for being true to me and true to yourself.  Your honesty and commitment are two of my favorite things about you.

 



Every day we have got to spend with each other has been a blessing.  Sure, we've had good days and bad days BUT those are the days that make up a real marriage.  We're a great team.

 

You can make me laugh when no one else can.  You are the other half of my soul.  Even if I didn't get to wear this gorgeous ring on my left finger, you would be my soul mate and best friend to the end. 

 

You make marriage FUN.  Waking up to you, and sometimes wanting to kill you in the middle of the night when you are snoring is part of my laughs and memories of our marriage.  I love that we can pick on each other and still love each other.  We know how to have a good time, with little outside sources. 

 

You are just my best friend.  I love you more than life itself and can't imagine spending my days with anyone else.  You're my protector, my hero, and my idol.   I can't wait to see us grow old together and share parenthood as a new challenge one day.  I love you so much, baby.

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, B!  

 

I'm not going to lie..

I thought about skipping a post in the blog world today. 

 

I woke up with my husband to make his coffee like every other morning, except after I got it done I KNOCKED IT OVER.  An entire large Tervis of coffee just running everywhere, including on me.  Brian ran in to help while I went to grab my glasses.  Yes, I make his coffee with no contacts or glasses every morning. 

 

Well, with all the spilling going on, it ran all over my sleeve of my favorite Victoria Secret pajamas.  This was a fail when I tried to lay back down because my sleeve was wet.  Great.

 

Next up, I was dressing and doing my hair in a hurry since I had lost some valuable time cleaning this morning.  The left side of my head was fine but the right side didn't want to cooperate.  I fling on some clothes and out the door I went.

 

On the way to work, I got stopped by a train.  I'm sitting there mumbling and look down to see I put on the wrong pair of pants this morning.  These have a hole in them.  I decide I'm going on in to work and making the best of it.

 

Of course, it's Monday morning in the banking world and it's crazy.  I screwed up the first thing I touched, forgot my coffee upstairs, and just now sat down to relax. 

 

Now, I won't lie.  I considered this to be a bad morning.  And then I got my weekly motivational email from a co-worker.

 

There it was.  My moment to sit back and start over.  This is the day that God gave me, even with it's trials.  So thank you, God.  I'm still working on this patience thing.. obviously.  We need to talk some later. :)

 

Happy Monday, friends!

Coffee Date Vol.2 {Link-Up}

I'm so tickled to be joining in with Rachel and Madison today as they host this Coffee Date link up.  These two ladies are seriously two of my favorite blogs to read, so when I heard about the coffee date I was completely on board.


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So, the catch is that we are (virtually!) having a coffee date and sharing what is on our hearts.  Having a good heart to heart conversation with a friend is one of the most fulfilling moments to me.  There is such a vulnerability that comes when two people are being completely themselves.  Blogging has brought me so many new friends that I wish I could sit down with today, but this is the next best thing!
 

Lately, my heart has been hurting.  I've been putting on a smile and making the most of each day, however, when I get home and in bed at night my head has been swirling.  The simple fact is what sometimes in life you never truly know a person, no matter how long you've been around them.  Unfortunately, it usually takes some type of bad situation to bring out these qualities in people. 

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In the middle of this array of emotions, I've found a new inner peace. For as long as I can remember, I've been Type A personality and driven for organization and success in life.  There have been so many times people have made fun of some of my actions.  I've shrugged it off, but later felt bad that my tendencies were that noticeable.

Brian and I are both OCD about a lot of things in life, but not the same things. That makes for an interesting combination for a "to do" list around our house.  I feel like our opposites worries are completely how we survive.  Brian sees something that I can't, and vice versa.  We compliment each other instead of butting heads like some may think. 

Before we were married, I lived alone in my home (with Reagan and Roxie!) for five years.  I had "my" way of doing things such as laundry, loading the dishwasher, cleaning, other chores, etc.  I can look back now and tell you I was uptight.  Too uptight.  Marriage was a blessing for me. Brian does all those things I listed, just in his own way, as I do in mine.  Both jobs get done and things are clean and put away.  I knew within a month of us living together that I HAD to let go of some of my uptight/independent attitude or we were going to have a hard road ahead of us.

Brian even commented one day that he could tell I had slacked off.  That may not be the most romantic thing he has ever said to me, but I tell you right now it stuck out almost as much as him proposing. I knew God had answered my prayer. 

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I don't think I will ever fully let go of my Type A personality and being a fanatic about things being clean and put away.  BUT I do think I have turned over a new leaf and am learning to appreciate LIFE more than organization.  That makes my heart smile.  I just don't want there to be a day that my future child feels like their home is not a home that can be lived in/played in.  I want them to have fun and invite friends over.  I want our home to hold their happy childhood memories.

God already knows this issue on my heart.  He knows I've prayed about this and asked for His help.  And you know what?  He listened to my prayers. 

Now, I'm off to clean the house... KIDDING! :) The laundry can wait another day!  I am going to enjoy my husband and the weekend!

Happy Friday, friends!

#firstTOTALSOCIAL

  I"m pretty pumped to see all what this new link-up brings out.  I'm nosey, I admit it freely.
Today's prompt: Your first time.
Get your mind out of the gutter. Not that kind of first time, although someone might want to share that today, ha!  It can be anything you want it to be.  So today,  I'm showing my First Look pictures from my wedding.

I was so glad to see his smiling face when he turned around.  I was getting nervous, but in this moment all those nerves were gone.  I was with my baby.

He checked out my WHOLE dress, apparently.

This picture is one of my favorites.  It shows Brian's personality just exactly.  I love this flower-smelling man of mine! P.S.- That handkerchief around my bouquet disappeared that day, sadly.  But I'm glad I have it in pictures. 
What are you showing off for your first time today?   

Mississippi Mrs.: The Story Behind the Name.

Mississippi Mrs. isn't where this little blog of mine got started.  If you've followed me for long, you know I used to host "Keeping Up With Kayla"for a long time.  Well, the simple fact is that I chose that name because I was clueless as to what else I should call myself.

I hated the name.  It was too generic for me.  I wanted to change my name for so long, but never had the nerve.  When you have all your social media tied to a name, it becomes a hassle to change without a lot of thought.

 And then it happened.  I got engaged.  I got married.  I got a new name.

I was a married woman now.  My blog was about more than "Kayla."  I was talking about married life and things Brian and I were facing as a married couple. So Mississippi Mrs. was born. 

 I spend my moments on this blog just really living life and documenting the trials we face as a married couple.Of course, I like to throw in our date nights, family vacations, and other fun things we get to experience.  I would LOVE to have you follow along with me too.

I am in the process of working on getting sponsors back up and running on my blog.  I took off prior to the wedding because I didn't have the time to devote for anyone.  But in the meantime, I'm all for swapping buttons with whomever wants! Send me an Email and we will get it worked out!

How did your blog get it's name? I'd love to hear!

   

Mother's Day: 2014

Hello, loves!  I hope everyone had a great Mother's Day weekend.  I got to spend some time with my mom Saturday and enjoyed just making new memories with her.  We went for dinner and then went to Wal-mart and sat in the car to people watch.  If you think I'm kidding, you're wrong. 

 

It's true.  My mom and I have THE BEST time just watching people make fools of themselves, and come on- Wal-Mart is THE place to be when you are people watching.  We even took Brian along this time and he had fun!

 

 

My sweet mother is my best friend ins this world.  She has been me at my lowest, and highest, moments and loved me through both.  She is the one I want to go with me places and the one I call to tell "the latest news" to over the phone.  My world would be so different without my mother and I'm thankful daily for God allowing me to have her in my life.

 

 

I also have another mother in my life these days, my Mother-in-Love, Donna.  This lady took me in as one of her own from the very beginning of Brian and I's relationship.  I'm so happy to have her in my life to tell funny stories and help me pick on her son! :)

 

This Mother's Day was a blessed one for me.  I couldn't live without these two! Happy Mother's Day.

 

 

5 on Friday!

 

Whew! We had it to Friday! Is anyone else as relieved as me?  Some weeks are just loooooooong, and this was one of them!  I'm hoping I'm on the verge of a productive weekend.  I have plans to clean out the closet(s) in the house as well as the kitchen cabinets.  My mom and I will be having a yard sale next weekend and I want to remove as much "clutter" as I can (and try to make a few bucks!)

 

I also have a project I am hoping to get started on, depending on the weather.  Follow me on Instagram for a sneak peek this weekend! It's going to be a good one!

 

Okay, back to it being Friday! It's time for one of my favorite link-ups!

 

1// This man of mine.  He continues to show me endless love, respect, and admiraton.  He's a wonderful husband.  Lately, he and I have been working in/around the house.  It's so nice to have a partner in life that you can do things with other than just call him your husband.  Brian is my best friend.  There's not a day that goes by that I don't pray and thank God for allowing me to be the one that gets to spend my life beside him.

 

 

2// I went for my weekly lunch date with mom Wednesday and I got these babies to try.  I must say they are SO good that I will getting them again on my next trip to Subway.  And look at that, 40% less fat.  Hey, it made me feel better at the time. Don't judge.

 

 

 

 

3// You can't tell me this didn't make you laugh. LOL.  Someone had this on Facebook one night and I HAD to screenshot it and save it.  I get tickled every time I look at it.  And it's an reminder, I don't wanna end up like poor Big Deborah!

 

 

 

4// The word.  Need I say more?  I love my time when I can sit and read in God's Word.  It's always refreshing to see Him working right in front of our eyes.  I have plans to start a new reading plan this weekend so be looking for more information on that and follow along with me!

 

 

 

5// My heart just exploded.  Enough said.

 

 

Happy Weekend!  

Words On A Page

The Fault in Our Stars, John Green

This book is STILL on my list of books to read.  Life has been a little busy lately and I haven't had a lot of free time to devote to reading. However, my next book to read is The Fault in Our Stars.   Goodreads states:

Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Also, the movie based on this book will be in theaters in June of this year.  Of course, I want to get the book read before I see the movie.  However, this movie even itself looks good.  

So, why am I drawn to this book?  Well, I'm a hopeless romantic and this book looks like one that will really tug at my heartstrings.  I have this love for books that make me really think about life/love.  

I've also seen numerous reviews on the internet for this book and every one says it is amazing. Have you read this book? What were your thoughts?
Also, are you following me on Goodreads? I would love to follow you there and see some of your book recommendations! 

Wednesday in the Word: Worry

Good morning, loves.  I'm linking up with one of my favorite bloggers, Jenni, from Frankly, My Dear.  It is so nice to know that there are other Christian women out there who want to show their love for the Lord.  I adore seeing Jenni's posts every Wednesday morning and I always think to myself that I wish I could just remember to get mine written.  Well, guess what? It happened this week and I'm here to share my heart with you. 

 

Worry.

 

This is a word we all know, and all hate.  I'm by nature a worrywart.  Over the years, I've had many friends come to me for advice or just to share their hearts about current issues.  I always do my best to listen and give them good sound advice, or my opinion.  But that's never stopped what happened after our talk.  I began to worry.  I would worry for them, for their heart, for the others (if there were) involved, and what the outcome would ultimately be for the issue.

 

I would take things to heart, sometimes too much to heart.  And that's when I turned to God to give me a solution to still be able to be that kind of friend that someone feels they can come to, but yet I can lean more on His timing and let Him handle the worries, not me.

 

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

 

This verse is exaclty what I needed in my life.  I needed to hear that is is normal and okay for me to want to carry the wordly worries, but I should not let that remain on my shoulders.  God knows the outcome before I even know the problem.  Stop and think about that for a minute.

 

God knows the OUTCOME before we know the PROBLEM. 

 

He's a mighty God. 

 

Every day we will find a new "struggle" in life, but we cannot let that take over our hearts.  God wants us to live a good, faithful, spiritual life and help spread His word.  We can't be overcome with the world's problems and slack in our duties to God. 

 

I'm not at all saying this will be easy.  Life isn't easy.  Hard life decisions aren't easy.  But what you can find easy is God's love. 

 

He will provide for you, if you shall let him.

 

So the next time you, or someone else, face a hard time in life just rememeber Matthew 6:34. God WILL be there for you.

 

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Beach Babe Look : Swimsuit

Here in Mississippi, the weather is really starting to warm up and heat things up.  I've been talking about this summer's vacation lately and thinking about some things I need to purchase before our trip.

Of course, swimsuits are needed for the beach. I've decided this year since I turned 30 that I need to change my "beach look."  I've always worn two-piece swimsuits, but since getting married in October I have gained some weight.  They say it's "happily married" weight, but I'm thinking if it stays around much longer I'm going to lose my "happy" ha!  

Anyway, this year I think I will be sporting a more "mature" look on the beach.  I want to go more toward the one-piece or Tankini style.  I like that they both offer a mature style, yet are still cute and do not look too "old lady" yet.  

These are a few of the ones I'm swooning over that I've found online.  I've included the links to each, in case you are interested.

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I also need a good self-tanner.  I've sworn off tanning beds this year (finally!) so any suggestions are appreciated!

But, for those of you who are still going to show off in a skimpy two-piece (I hate you, kidding!) then these are some styles I think are so cute!

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What kind of swimsuit are you rocking this year?

Also, don't forget to sign up for my snail mail goal this month.  Send me an email with your address!