A...B...C....of me!

It's always nice to get back to the basics when it comes to blogging.  Sometimes new faces appear and they want to know more about YOU than what you did the previous weekend.  That's where this post comes into play.  One of my favorite blogging gals, Erin, posted this over on her blog.  And I did the nice thing and stole it.  But I told her I was going to so it's all cool.  Right, Erin?

So, me... A-Z!

A. Type A.  I'm with Erin on this one. I take it to a new level.

B. Brian, my husband. 

AKA the hottie I show off on this blog. :)

C. Christian.  Love my God!

D. Dogs that run my house. 

Everyone, meet Reagan and Roxie.

E. Earplugs are a must.  I wear them every night to bed. Bring on the snores from the husband, ha!

F. Fried pickles.  OBSESSED lately. (And now craving some...)

G. Green is my second favorite color.  Next to brown. :)

H. Honeymoon is coming in October.  I can't wait to hit the road with my sweetie.

I. Instagram junkie.  I adore it. Find me @mrskaylawhite

J. Job- I work at a bank.

K. stands for me! 

L. Love. I know it's an over-used word for L.  But I really am a lover.  I love people and will give them anything I can or do what I what I can.  But if you mistreat me, then it's done. I'm through for life.

M. Married last October. #bestdecisionever

N. My former last name.  And sometimes it's weird when I see it on mail.  #oldandmarriednow

O. Ocean.  I love the beach.  It's mine and Brian's favorite place to visit.

P. Pictures are my jam.  I take too many and annoy people, but later on they thank me for doing so!

Q. Quarters... I see them all.day.long at work.  #bankerlife

R. Reading is my pastime. I love a good book that I can relate to. Suggestions?

S. Sleeping has moved way up on my priority list over the years.  I'm a total sucker for a nap now!

T. Tender-hearted.  My husband tells me all the time I need to work on this.  And its true.  I can hold my own when I get upset, but first... first I cry.

U. Ulta.  I could spend hours in there just looking. Good thing there's not one here in my hometown!

V. Vacation. We just got back and it was fantastic!

W. W's are my other jam.  I seriously have a monogrammed house.  Almost.

X. X-rays are no fun.  Womp, womp.

Y. Years of age- 30.  Yikes. No, it's not too bad, most days.

Z. Zaxby's.  My all-time favorite fast food restaurant. And guess what? Corinth is getting one!!!!

   

SURVIVAL

I am so excited to bring you today's post.  I was recently contacted by Man Crates and asked to participate in their blogger survey.  The goal of the post is to list 4-5 items that I consider my "must have's" for a survival kit.  However, this isn't for items such as matches, etc.  This is for what you REALLY crave and want to be close to you.

Man Crates design fun ideas for men to be bought as gifts.  You can shop their store by clicking here. All these crates are shipped in their very own wooden crate.

There are sections for what your man likes.  For example, there is a section for "Gamers" and that's where I would look when it comes to Brian's likes and interests.
 

This Retro Gamer Crate would be something right up his alley.

source

I have browsed their website, and would encourage you to do the same soon.  You never know what perfect gift awaits you.  And we all know that most men are hard to please when it comes to gift ideas!

So, if I were to survive with 5 items in my crate, what would I want them to be?

Coffee. I can't think of any other way to start the day than with a good cup of coffee in my Ole Miss Tervis.  Oh, and it should have Hazelnut creamer in it for sure.


Fried Pickles. Yes.  I'm dead serious.  I crave these babies like they are almost extinct.  So they are a must! Besides, I gotta eat. #fatkid #problems


Nike sandals. I own a pair of these and they are amazingly comfortable.  I can't imagine not having them on my feet.


LipGloss.  I seriously would die without lipgloss.  I hate "naked" lips.


Kindle. Duh, I gotta have this for entertainment.



What would YOU pack in your survival kit?

And be sure and check out Man Crates and see what they have to offer for the men in your life!

 

#NamesOfGod2014 Volume IV

I have to admit, I'm at the beach this week, so this post might be shorter than they normally are for regular weeks. In case you missed my previous weeks then check out Vol. I, II, III. 

This time I'm covering Chapter 9: The Lord who Heals

Very early on in this chapter, we find a statement that says Ignorance is bliss.  That's exactly how I feel a lot of days.  It says we live in our own world, ignorant to the reality of how much we need God.  

We want to change the world ourselves.  We want to make the most of our days, but we don't want to be bothered with others troubles. To me, these are the days when God is challenging us the most.  He wants to see us reach out our hands to those in need, those who need our love. 

We are introduced to another name, Jehovah-rapha.  This means the Lord who heals!

Today, stop and take a hard look at yourself.  Are you sharing The Word? Are you helping those who need relief? Are you telling of God's wonders?

Jehovah-rapha is the Great Physician. If you need physical, emotional, or spiritual help then you need to seek Jehovah-rapha. 

Keep God close. He is listening.  He will heal.

Another Mississippi Girl

Hey, loves. As you read this, I am sitting at the beach and catching some rays of sunshine.  But I didn't want to leave this entire week quiet, so I asked my sweet friend, Rachel, to share some of her bloggin' love over in my neck of the blog-o-sphere.  So, without any more prolonging... Here's Rachel.

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Hi there Mississippi Mrs. readers! As a fellow Mississippi blogger I am so thrilled to be here today! My name is Rachel and I blog over at Oh, Simple Thoughts! I write about marriage, our little fur ball pup, Jesus, and food! I am so grateful to be here today, and thankful that Kayla reached out to me!

I don't know about you but Pinterest is my jam...I LOVE it. From recipe ideas, blog inspiration, to my birthday wishlist I always turn to Pinterest! So I wanted to share some of my favorite finds lately, and point you to some great businesses and brands!

1. Love Thy Farmer Tote Bag- I love going to the Farmer's Market on Saturdays and this would be a perfect tote bag to take with me to the market. I love West Elm and all the products they sell...this is a quality bag, for a great price and would be darling packed full with all my veggies and fruits!

2. "Time to get stuff done" Coffee Mug- I stumbled across this precious company, Click and Blossom, thanks to Pinterest and cannot get enough of all their photography inspired products. I love this motivational coffee mug, and the hand script is just too pretty for words!

3. Retro Headbands- These are my new favorites headbands. They make me feel like I am back in the 50's, and super retro. They are adorable, and my friend Kendra sews them all herself! So adorable, and I cannot wait to add this trailer headband to my collection!

4. Copper Kitchen Utensils- I am a sucker for copper. Always...I would die for a set of copper cooking pots...but they are soooo expensive. So something less extravagant like utensils, or copper drinking straws satisfies my copper craving without breaking the bank!

5. Vans Authentic Cotton Washed Tennis- I love love love these! I am so in love with the vintage feel, and the leather shoestrings! I need to get my hands on these!

I feel like I could make a whole post on just food from Pinterest also...but today is just things on my wishlist! So I hope you guys fall in love with these brands like I have! Thanks so much Kayla for letting me take over on your blog today!

What are your favorite things to find on Pinterest?

 

A LOOK INTO MY BEACH BAG.

I'm currently at the beach, enjoying life!  I wish all you lovely ladies could be here with me to see this view!  Since I'm here and talking about the beach, I wanted to let you in on what's in my beach bag for this year. 

These are my "essentials" for a day in the sun!

1// Vera Bradley beach bag.  Order yours here.  This will hold all your goodies you will need while soaking in that beautiful sun.

2// Beach hat.  I have one of these beauties and it is a lifesaver.  You can sit and look pretty on the beach all while protecting your face from the sun.  Win, win!

3// Sunblock for the face.  This goes hand in hand with the hat, but be sure you are protecting your face good.  Most women use make-up on a daily basis and may skip while on the beach.  This leaves your skin very exposed and under-protected.  Be sure to re-apply this often for best protection.

4// Tanning Oil.  I have always loved getting that good bronzed tan look and this tanning oil has been on my favorites list for years.  However, this year I will be taking it easy with the tanning.  I just turned 30 and I think I've started to really get worried about the harm I'm putting on my skin with too much sun exposure.   However, I still want to include this on my list because I will be rocking it, just limited.

5// Nike Flip Flops.  You have to have a great pair of flops to wear until you reach the sand.  Let's face it, that boardwalk is HOT and we need to protect those feet.  I love my Nike's that Brian got me a few weeks ago, so I am excited to get to spend some quality time with them this year at the beach.

6// Sunglasses.  Everyone has their own brand they prefer, but I'm a cheap-o kind of girl, especially for beach wear.  Don't forget these beauties and PROTECT those eyes!

7// Beach towel.  I must admit that I own way more of these than any normal person should BUT I love a good beach towel.  Add some monogramming to it and it gets even better.

What items are on your must list for your beach bag this year?

Sunday Spin Vol. II

Hi! Welcome to the Sunday Spin.  A couple weeks ago, I started this as a way to just recap and relive the previous week's happening, or describe your weekend.  It really has no rules and is whatever you want to make of it.  To see my first Sunday Spin, click here.

This past week was amazing.  Brian's little brother, Ben, has been staying with us while he is home from college, so Brian has been having a good time playing Xbox with him.  Lindsey and I opt for talking about wedding and food, ha!

In case you missed anything, I covered what we did last weekend, and getting to see the very precious Nannie.  I also found a new favorite picture.

Note to self: Get this printed and send to her.

I also linked up and shared my thoughts on #NamesOfGod2014 Vol.2 & #NamesOfGod2014 Vol.3.  I'm loving this study and would encourage you to look into it if you haven't already.

I touched on what Marriage and what it means to be in Community Brew Volume 2. 

And then I did a lot of this...packing!  I should mention that as you're reading this, I'm sitting on a beach in Florida.  Yes, I slipped out and away before you knew it!  But don't fear, I have some great posts for this week to keep my face around. 

So, ladies, have a great week!  Catch me on Instagram to keep up to date with me.

Oh, and snapchat me! My username is kwhite1012

   

#NamesOfGod2014 Volume III

* Not sure why this posted, half done, yesterday.  If you saw it, please dis-regard that and try today!*

 

This study is amazing.  If you are not participating, I strongly encourage you to grab a book and start it yourself.  It will not disappoint.  If you want to catch up, you can find my Volume 1 and Volume 2 posts for a recap.  

Today I'm going to be covering Chapters 5-8.  I'm totally sure I'm on track with everyone else, but since there are no rules I am just going to handle it this way.  It makes sense in my mind! ha!

 
Chapter. 5 The All-Sufficient One   In previous reading, we leaned of Elohim, El Elyon, and El Roi. Today we are moving into the name El Shaddai, meaning the all-magnificent one.    We see the example of God appearing as El Shaddai to Abram when he blessed he and Sarah with descendants.  This is one of my favorite stories in the Bible.  That's pure trust.  Abraham and Sarah believed in the Lord and His promises.  
  In my own personal life, I've seen El Shaddai on those days when I felt like life was just too much and I was letting stress take over my heart and mind.  El Shaddai showed up and helped me conquer those issues.    

Chapter 6 The Lord

 

Before knowing God as El Shaddai, Arthur says we need to know Him as Adonai, meaning your Lord and Master.

 

To really know the Lord, you have to have a relationship with Him. This means you give total submission to Him. He is your Lord and Master. 

I really love how it states that with submission comes all we need for the task He puts before us.  So many times I find myself feeling "alone" but God always shows up and shows me that He has my hand, even in the most difficult of days.

Chapter 7 The Self-Existent One

We are introduced to another name, Jehovah.  This is a name fairly common in our language.  We see it abundantly in scripture. It is translated to mean " to be, or to become".  We see that God tells Moses at the burning bush that he is "I AM WHO I AM".  I think it's important for us all to remember that in our daily walks.  He is the same as he was and the same as He will be.  Lord and Master, forever.

Chapter 8 The Lord Will Provide

Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide.  Isn't that the best thing to hear?  Our Lord WILL BE THERE for us.  In those lonely bad days and through the glorious days.  He will be there. And He will provide.

Are you seeing God speak to you through this study? Have you been following along?  Don't forget to LINK-UP today with Rachel or Nicole.  I'm so excited to see what your heart has to say.  Don't be afraid to listen, He will speak.  

 

 

COMMUNITY BREW : Vol. 2

MARRIAGE

Verses: 

Ephesians 5:22-33

1 Corinthians 7:32-35

I'm so happy to see you back here today for the Community Brew link-up.  First, I want to say thank you to the ladies who keep this going, Madison and Rachel.  I love that we can use this space and our lives to show off what the Lord is doing in each of our lives.

I also want to encourage you to read the verses listed above, especially the ones listed for Ephesians.  This is used in marriages all over the world.  It was spoken in mine.  These words are DEAR to me heart.

How has your "life stage" helped you grow in your relationship with Jesus? 
- I turned thirty this year, so to say that my life stage has changed is an understatement.  I think in the last two years, I've found an even deeper relationship with God that I ever thought i would, honestly. 

What has God been teaching you about being single?
- Ladies, please hear me.  If you are single then YOU ARE NOT ALONE.  I thought being single was the worst thing at one time.  I was depressed that all my friends had husbands/boyfriends/etc. to go and do something with on weekends.  I was bitter. 

And then I started realizing that life isn't so bad single.  So, I used my time being single to focus on ME and MY dreams.  I went out with friends, caught up with old friends, spent time reading, and just being ME.  It was so beneficial in hindsight, and guess what?  Brian walked into my life shortly after...

What is God teaching you about being a wife?
- Every day, God gives me a new lesson on being Brian's wife.  Some days it can be something as silly as learning to be less control-freak when Brian leaves his empty glass on the table.  Then, some days it's challenging when I have to be in a serious conversation with my husband over something personal to us.  I am blessed for both of those days because I would be lost without him. 

God doesn't give us more than we can handle.  If you think He has, then I assure you that your lesson is yet to be learned.  God pushes us, test us, and angers us sometimes.  But being a wife is my priority right now and I will ask God to guide me any way He can.

What lessons have you learned while being engaged?

- My time while engaged, was a huge blessing to me.  I can see now that I was taught patience.  When Brian and I got engaged, I was ready to settle the deal and just have a wedding and become his Mrs.  But I stuck with my plans and waiting 11 months to walk down the isle to the man of my dreams.  To some, eleven months is long and to some it is short.  I think for me it was perfect.  God knew I needed the time to adjust and let me learn a valuable lesson from it in doing so.

You can catch my entire Love Story by clicking here.

#NamesOfGod2014 Volume 2

I am so happy to be back today with volume 2 of #NamesOfGod2014.  If you missed my post #NamesOfGod Vol.1 then you can find that as well.     Again, I want to say thank you to Rachel and Nicole for hosting this Bible study.  I love that I have found a good group of friends via blogland to share my love for the Lord.  I love what this study is showing to all of us, even if those things be very different.   That's what is awesome about God. He shows you what He knows YOU need to see, not what everyone else thinks you should. I'm picking up at Days 5-10 today.  

First let's dig in with the name El Elyon.  This is the name that designates God as the sovereign ruler of the universe.  I love this name.  I love knowing that our God is the ultimate ruler, protector, etc.  God is our ruler from generation to generation.  He wasn't just around while our grandparents' and parents were growing up.  He is still here today with us, and will be there for our children's lives.  He is there, all the time. Doesn't that give you a sense of peace?

 

In Isaiah 46: 9-11 God encourages us to forget all those things of our past.  We need to let go of them and stop letting them have control over our lives.  It's only God who can control us.  It's all through Him. I can speak from personal experience and tell you that I'm thankful for a forgiving, loving. non-judgmental God.

 

As we move on into chapter four, we are introduced to another name of God.  El Roi is the God who sees.  Life will not always be perfect.  We will get hurt, angry, sad.  We will feel betrayed and wonder why God would allow bad things to happen to us.  We may even feel like God isn't listening or watching out for us.  El Roi is the proof that He does listen, He does see.  God never turned his head on us, even if we feel He has.

 

I love knowing God sees.  Don't you?

 

I understand finding it hard to trust, but with God, it's secure.

 

What did you learn? I would love to hear.

Weekending Edition

Well, last week I did good and started my new link-up Sunday Spin.  This week I was a complete fail and didn't even get to schedule today's post, much less one for yesterday.  This weekend was jammed packed and I'm still needing some extra sleep to recover.

 

Let's rewind a bit to Thursday.  I left work early and drove with the family to Memphis to pick up Ben from the airport.  If you are new around here, then Ben is Brian's younger brother.  I won't say "little" anymore because he towers over me so isn't exactly my definition of little.

 

He had spent the last month in Fort Knox, KY doing some Army training so we were all very excited to see him and get to bring him home.  Ben stays at our house while he is in town and not in school.  It's a joy to have him around and I know Brian loves having his "bubba" with him as well.  I know a lot of people sometimes don't get along well with their in-laws but I have been beyond blessed in that department.  I consider them as my own family, not in-laws.

 

And sadly, I'm a bad blogger and don't have any pictures from this night.  I was so tired and completely never thought about getting my phone out.  Ooops.

 

Friday, I worked and then went home.  Ben had taken Lindsey (his fiancé) on a date and so Brian and I decided we too would have a mini-date.  We tried out the new Mexican restaurant in town and I really liked it.  After dinner, we went to our normal location- Lowe's.  And this week I came out with more items than Brian.  [Insert shock face.]

 

My better half

 

Saturday, we loaded up bright and early and made the trip to Cairo, Illinois.  It was the annual 4th July Fish Fry at Brian's grandparents' house.  We waited for the weekend after so Ben would be able to make the trip as well.

 

Blake and I, having fun in the backseat

Bethany and some cute cousins

After some time with Brian's Mamaw and Papaw, we stopped for a visit with his precious Nannie.  And a little fun fact- her real name is Nannie!  Nannie Claire to be exact and that's one reason I want my future little girl to be named Klaire.

 

 

 

And, hands down, my favorite picture of the day....

 

Nannie asked me to comb her hair.  My heart just exploded with pride and I wish she lived closer so I could do it every day.  I just love this woman.

 

On the way home, Brian, Ben, Blake, and myself decided to stop for dinner.  So we stopped at Olive Garden and stuffed ourselves.  But it was OH so good. 

 

 

I'm pretty sure Blake enjoyed his spaghetti from the look on his face.  He was such a doll the whole day.  I love you, Blake!

 

Sunday, we dropped off Roxie Jane before church and picked her back up afterwards.  She had her first haircut and I just want you to know she was adorable!

 

 

What a blessed weekend it was.  I'm so glad Brian and I have wonderful family to spend time with and make the most of this life. 

 

Now, I'm going to work on getting the rest of this week and next week scheduled so I can get packed and enjoy my VACATION next week!

   

 

THE BEAUTY IN ALL OF US

I'm sure most of you have seen/heard about Colbie Caillat's video addressing women's natural beauty and the way society has driven women to feel like they have to "try" to become beautiful.
That's where women are wrong.  They don't have to try.  
You just are.  
God made us all in our own special ways.  He designed us just as He saw fit for us.  
I love to dabble in make-up and hair products just the same as most of you, but we need to remember that we are who we are WITHOUT those items.  
Please check out the video below if you haven't seen it yet.  Or, if you just want to see it again like I did.


Way to go, Colbie.  The world needs more people like you.

The Secret to a Happy Day..

Everyone loves a good e-card and a good laugh!  What's your favorite e-card?

A big Hello.

Today I want to address the new folks around here.  Hi, I'm Kayla.  This is my little slab of the internet and I'm mighty proud of it!  I like to blog about my husband, like a lot.  We recently got married and I am still swooning over some great wedding photos.  
I'm 30 years old and just living a good, simple life here in NE Mississippi. We have two fur-babies who are more like our kids than you can imagine.  
Brian and I are both very family-oriented and would give the shirt off our backs to those in need.  I think that's what makes us such a great team.  We were meant to be a team.
I'm so glad to see that my followers has increased lately and I just want to say a big WELCOME to you lovely people.  I hope you stick around awhile and like what you find!
Happy Tuesday, friends.  

SUNDAY SPIN {Vol.1}

Welcome back from the 4th weekend! I sure hope you took time to get together and relax this weekend.  I had a very laid back weekend and it was exactly what I wanted it to be.  
  I'm starting a new link-up today and it's one of my own.  If you want to chime in and link up with me, then please feel free to do so! It will make my heart smile.  I am going to start using Sundays as my weekend day.  I really like the idea of keeping Monday-Friday for other blogging sources so I want my laid back posts to come on the weekends.  With that said, Sunday Spin was born.  

I spent time hanging out with this little cutie.  I like to refer to her as my "co-editor" since nine our of ten times she is in my lap while I'm typing up one of these posts. There may or may not be a segment coming from Roxie herself...*hint, hint*

Popsicle time with this little love was one of the favorite parts of my weekend.  Isn't that just the sweetest face?

source

I found this idea on Pinterest and I'm swooning over it.  I have an extra pallet at my house right now, so I'm seeing this idea come to life pretty soon!  Find my other Home Ideas on Pinterest.

Funny faces between two of my favorites.  It doesn't get any better than that.  

And speaking of that husband of mine, he made this funny shot for me during some of his time in the shop this weekend.  Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of his finished product but he re-vamped some wooden rockers for my mom.  I'm lucky to have a handyman in my life and house!  It may not look like much, but it was a winning weekend in my book.  Sometimes just hanging at home in your pajamas is what the doctor ordered.