MERRY CHRISTMAS!

in , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 8:58 AM

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!  I hope that you are reading thing in a place of peace, able to enjoy the rest of the week a little bit, and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season.  While this year has been frustrating on many different levels, I continue to feel overwhelmingly blessed when I stop to look around.  Slowing down and spending time with my people is probably just what I needed.  

7 MONTHS OF TRIGG BRADLEY!

by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 3:30 AM

Growing up, I remember people saying that the years would fly by, and I feel like I am currently wondering where the last 7 months have gone.  The last month of my pregnancy was LONNGGGGG, and I for sure thought I was going to have Trigg early and in fact, did not! But he is seven months old now and I don't know where the time went.  While the first couple months of him joining our family seemed really hectic, and somedays still do, he has seriously been the BEST baby.   Most of our family members haven't heard him cry, if they've had the chance to meet him due to Covid, and really, we haven't heard a ton of it either.

FLASHBACK: MARCH 2020

in , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 5:00 AM
Oh March!  You're a bittersweet month to look back on!  I was in the "sweet spot" of pregnancy--where you're comfortable, look cute, and feel good, I turned 30 and was thrown a surprise birthday party, and then Covid hit and the world shut down.  We navigated a pretty tight lockdown due to being pregnant, having twins that didn't handle respiratory viruses very well, and knowing very little about the virus.  I tried my best to teach 3rd graders online, find everything we needed online, and keep my sanity at home!

PAYING IT FORWARD: CHRISTMAS

in , , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 5:30 AM
Raising kids isn't an easy task to begin with!  Enter 2020 and about a million other things were added to our plate.  There just hasn't been a "right way" to parent this year and just about every decision you make, there is something that doesn't feel right about it.  Christmas has been a breath of fresh air for me, though!  Our house feels cozy, our traditions have been fairly easy to carry on, and there is just excitement in the air!  With that being said, my kids are SUPPERRRR excited for presents so we have really been focusing on ways "give" and not always receive.

FLASHBACK: FEBRUARY 2020

in , , , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 4:55 PM


Just a little photo dump from February 2020!  

It's still crazy to think back to what normal life used to be like and I pray that we are getting closer to getting back to that.  Back to my kids not feeling anxious being around their own family members, back to when it was normal to SEE peoples' faces, and when we all didn't second guess every decision we made!  

If you have missed my last couple of flashback posts, I am attempting to get my blog caught up from taking a lot of the year off.  I use this a my kids baby books so I am trying to keep things in order for that reason.  It is fun to look back at these pictures too and see just how much my kids have grown in 10 months.  

COME ON IN: CHRISTMAS EDITION

in , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 10:16 AM

 
In one moment it seems like 2020 is stuck in March and the next moment it seems like it has been the longest year ever!  It is hard to believe that it is already the middle of December and Christmas is going to be here and gone before we know it.  I feel like we are reaching the "sweet spot" with our kids and Christmas.  They are excited about the little things, like to "help" decorate and wrap presents, and are beginning to understand why we celebrate Christmas.

FRIDAY FAVORITES

in , , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 5:00 AM

I am excited to share some of my favorite gift finds from last year and this year in case you are still looking for anything!  I got hooked on The Home Edit on Netflix at some point during our quarantine which led me to organizing just about every nook and cranny of our house.  My biggest successes of all of this were our pantry and our kids' toys!  Their toys were in about 18 different locations in our house, none of the same toy were located together so I felt like they dumped them and then never played with them.  Insert Home Edit and they are now sorted into tubs and my kids are only allowed to get two tubs out at a time.  You're asking what this has to do with Friday Favorites?  Well, it has really solidified which toys my kids play with and really like because the same tubs are out routinely.

FLASHBACK: JANUARY 2020

by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 5:30 AM

If I could go back to January 2020 and give myself a little heads up for what was to come, I'm not even sure what I would say to be honest.  Travel? Stock up on toilet paper? Hang out with everyone possible?

December was a REALLY rough month for us so we were ready for 2020 to bring us some good health and less exciting days!  And for the most part, January was great!  I made a huge leap of faith and resigned from my dream job to be home with my kids.  While teaching and serving children is what I feel called to do,  a much bigger part of me felt (and still feels) pulled home with my kids.  I was feeling spread really thin and was hating the feeling of not being able to give my best to any title I held.

7 ELF SHENANIGAN IDEAS

by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 5:30 AM

While it can be hard to remember to move the little dude, the look on my kids' faces when they find the little fella each morning makes it 100% worth it!  I have actually planned out ideas and put them in my calendar for each night.  That may seem way Type A and over the top, but it has allowed me to get anything that I need bought so that I have it on hand.

HI!! IT'S ME--KYLIE!

by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 5:30 AM

 

I figured since it has been a while since I have been on here regularly, it's probably a good time to (re)introduce myself!

Welcome to my little corner of the internet--where I share snippets of our lives and really don't know what I'm doing. :-). Here goes nothing!

I'm Kylie!  I married to my hunk of a husband, Gavin, and mom to four littles.  We got married in 2014 in front of 600 of our family and friends!  Typing that out six years later sounds absolutely crazy.  

FLASHBACK: DECEMBER 2019

in , , , , , , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 5:30 AM

 

We started off December of 2019 strong!!  We decorated our whole house and Christmas the Elf showed up on December 1st with our North Pole breakfast.  He actually just showed up yesterday and as I am looking at pictures, I noticed that Treyton had those yellow football pants on in both....December 1st, 2019 and December 1st, 2020!  Hah!!  

ELF ON THE SHELF & NORTH POLE BREAKFAST

in , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 5:30 AM
I have very mixed feelings on "Christmas" our Elf on the Shelf!  Hah!  Some days I feel very excited to do something exciting with him and other days I forget about the little fella until I hear my alarm the next morning and do a mad dash to get him moved.

With everything that 2020 has thrown at us, I feel the need to keep the excitement alive for our kids, especially if family gatherings get cancelled.

First and foremost, we make sure to keep Christmas centered around Jesus and the real reason for the season.  We are always talking about why we celebrate Christmas, how fortunate we are, and practice "paying it forward" throughout the month of December.

TRIP TO LONDON

by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 5:30 AM
My brother's, now fiance, Emmy, was crowned Miss World America, earlier in 2019 which led to her getting to compete for the international title in London.

Because I really don't have any interest in traveling the world, I figured this was a trip of a lifetime and texted Gavin asking if I could go and booked tickets hours later.  I'm a planner so I must have been feeling really adventurous that day!

CYBER MONDAY FLASH SALE

by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 12:58 PM

 Here's the scoop!

My team and I are hosting a Cyber Monday Flash Sale!  Several times throughout the day tomorrow, a sale will drop in our Facebook group.  All you will have to do is tag me in the comments and I will help you get the deal!  It is as easy as that!  I promise that you won't be able to beat these deals.

Gavin & Kylie Plus FOUR!

in , , , , , , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 1:58 PM
Eeeek!!!  

In November, we shared with our family and friends that we are SOOO excited (and maybe a little bit crazy) to be welcoming Baby Steege # 4 into our family in May!

We let Treyton call all of his grandparents, family, and closest friends and let them know!

We had some family pictures taken to help spread the news as well.  Beth captured all of these pictures in less than 10 minutes, 20 feet from our garage, with the combine parked 6 rows over!

Taylor & Trynlee Turn 2!

in , , , , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 1:51 PM
The girls' birthday brings up lots of emotions for me!

The fact that they turned 2 on November 3rd seems a bit impossible but we are sooo thankful for them!

We had a surprise birthday party for my dad the night before, and flew my brother home from LA, so Uncle Kolt got to be here for their birthday as well.

Pumpkin Patch--3rd Annual Trip

in , , , by Gavin and Kylie Plus 4, 1:45 PM
For the last 3 years, right around harvest, we have headed to Chicago to visit an amazing pumpkin patch and apple orchard.  We stay with my bestie, Jenna's, parents and spend the day at Kuiper's.

Gavin was in the field this year after a very wet harvest so it ended up being a mom and kiddo trip!  Lots of driving but so much fun!
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