[life] The Last... June 2015

Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner, TX: where Shiner Beer is made!

Y'ALL.

I am the worst! Let's just say I took June off for blogging vacation. Sound good? I have about 45,234 posts to write: our summer has been CRAZY so far, and it'll only speed up as we go into July! But I wouldn't have it any other way... summer is fabulous.

I did this post in May and many of you enjoyed it, so I thought I'd do another round for June! Feel free to borrow the questions and write your own post, then let me know in the comments so I can go check it out!

Thing I ate: Chicken Caesar Salad for lunch from a local restaurant


Thing I watched: Alfie's vlog on YouTube (I like when the YouTubers get together on each other's vlogs... so when I saw him and Zoe going to Tanya's house, I thought it'd be more entertaining... but it was a bit boring)

Account I followed on Instagram: Liz Marie's (LMB) Blog Shops account. It's where she posts all of her amazing finds! I love her blog and regular account already, so when she created this one, I knew it'd be a good one!

Activity I did: Deposited our checks (#payday) into the bank.

Product I used: Maybelline's Baby Lips in Coral Crave. Has a smooth application, keeps my lips feeling nice and smooth, and provides a subtle hint of color! It is a bit more pink/orange than this picture shows, but it's a great, natural color!

Time I was shocked: on Facebook, of course, reading some hurtful/impolite things that were said about others. I really enjoy FB for keeping up with family (especially since we live far away from them) and long-time/no-see friends, but sometimes it really is just about drama. It's so nuts! Does anyone else feel that way about social media sometimes? That's why I usually gravitate more towards Instagram: a cute picture, a little blurb, that's it! It still has drama, but not nearly as much.

Cute thing I saw: again, on Facebook. Ha! With all the drama, there does come a hint of cuteness and joy. I thought this was more "funny" than "cute" because it is TOTALLY. ME. Just ask Nate, ha! I don't know who/what "Dave" it is, but one of my friend's shared it.

There you have it! Another month, another list. Hopefully my month-long vacation doesn't turn into two months of rest and being away, because I do enjoy writing, posting, and connecting with you all! Let me know in the comments if you plan on using the list too: I want to read!

"...The great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him." -C.S. Lewis in Mere Christianity

[life] The Last... May 2015

This picture doesn't really have anything to do with this post, except that it was taken in May... and this is May's edition of "The Last"!

Borrowed this post idea from Lindsay at Pursuit of Pink- I thought it would be a fun blog edition each month! I changed a few from what she posted, but feel free to click the link to see her responses!

Thing I ate: A chocolate chip cookie (breakfast of champions). We purchased cookie dough from a school fundraiser for one of the youth at our church, and of course I had to immediately make them when we got home. Chocolate Chunk for the win.

Thing I watched: Texas Rangers baseball as they took on the Boston Red Sox (and WON!)

Account I followed on Instagram: Sadie Robertson from Duck Dynasty. I definitely DON'T watch that show... I'm not big into reality TV... but I am obSESSED with Dancing With The Stars (which I know is "reality", but it's more of a dance competition/reality... give me some slack!) and after the DWTS finale on Tuesday, I wanted to see everyone's pictures, so I followed Sadie. Great Christian gal too, such a sweetheart!

Activity I did: Took the dogs to the vet... It's always such an ordeal! Oliver is super chill about it, but Chloe gets all riled up. I mean, she KNOWS the vet building and what they do in that building. She is not a fan. They both were getting their yearly vaccines, and Chloe is allergic to one of them... the vet forgot, so he had to give her Benadryl as well, plus we started her on steroid pills for the next two weeks because her allergies are really bad... Long story short, I'm on Chloe-duty today making sure she doesn't have a reaction. Poor gal.

Product I used: Bath and Body Works "Wild Madagascar Vanilla" Fragrance Mist. That is my everyday scent. I use Chanel perfume on special occasions... but 9 times out of 10, I'll be sporting my B&BW. Mmmm...

Time I was shocked: One of my sweet friends revealed to me that she was pregnant with her second baby after they had been trying for a while. Of course, I was shocked in the best way!

Cute thing I saw: This on Pinterest... my word! Original source here.

 

There you have it! My "last" things I have recently done. Want to join? Copy the questions and post your own blog about it! Let me know in the comments so I can read yours too!

[life] 20 Random Facts About Me (and my first YOUTUBE video!)

Y'all. I made my first "regular" YouTube video! I had already posted two videos on my channel (both were from our travels), but I felt that adding ::hopefully:: a weekly, or even bi-weekly, video would give a voice and personality to my writing on the ol' blog! Plus I am an avid YouTube video watcher... there are loads of channels that I enjoy!

Anyhoo, my first video is 20 random facts about me! I thought this would be a good introductory video so you can get a sense of me and who I am. Obviously I am a novice at editing videos and the camera goes in/out of focus at times (ugh!), but I'm pretty proud of what I made!

Without further ado, here it is! Feel free to "subscribe" to my channel to get the latest videos I create, or you can just wait for the blog post... I'm sure I'll do a post for each video I do!

P.S. Does anyone else hate the sound of their voice being recorded? I'll have to get used to that!

Let me know of any other video ideas you would like me to create: there are plenty of YouTube "tags" out there that I could do, but if you have any ideas, send them my way. Happy Friday!

[life] Hello Friends

 

In the past week or so, I have gained a new amount of "followers" via a blog community on Facebook called The Blog Love Project. It's a group of women who support each other in their blog posts, Facebook pages, tweets, Instas, and pins. It really is a great community! If you haven't found a blogging community yet, I suggest heading over there!

Because of this new following, I want to give an overview of who I am, and who "Everyday with the Jays" is all about! If you have been around here before, most of this will be the same as usual. So to all of my new friends, I say welcome! If you're from The Blog Love Project, let me know in the comments so I can come say hello to you too!

I'm Chrissy, he's Nate. We have been a two-some since our marriage in June 2009. We met in college: he was the cute boy leading worship at a college retreat and I thought, "Oh yes, he WILL be mine." A month later and he was my boyfriend! After a year and a half of dating, he proposed in the most memorable way. He gifted me a Bible with my married name on the front cover. He is such a blessing to me and I can't thank God enough for him. He leads our household to love and fear the Lord and to follow His commandments. He treats me like a princess and comforts me. He keeps me safe and I feel secure in his presence. Love this fella!

We have no children, but have two fur-babies who we treat as such. Anyone else? Chloe is the spunky Jack Russell Terrier pictured below. We got her three months after we were married, so she's been with us since the beginning. She loves adventure, the outdoors, and likes to bark at cats. She keeps us on her toes: she's extremely smart AND stubborn! We adopted Oliver, a Shih-Tzu/Lhasa Apso (not sure) almost a year later. He is kind, tender-hearted, and loves Nate fiercely. He has grown to be a snuggler and always gives us a laugh with his goofy hair.

Nate is the Lead Pastor at our church. He has such a heart for God and His people. It is a true joy to hear him preach each Sunday! He also leads the worship music: Nate sings (amazingly well), plays guitar, and piano. Sometimes I will share snippets of his singing, seen below!

I also work part-time at the church: I am Nate's ministry assistant! I do basic office duties, and also create media publications for the church (weekly bulletins, monthly newsletters, website updates). I maintain communication with our small groups and accountant, and also plan church-wide events. I really enjoy my flexible schedule and working alongside Nate. I'm able to be creative and plan/organize events, but also work on my own in a quiet environment. We have our own work spaces, so we aren't all up in each other 24/7, but just across the hall from one another.

We love to travel: our favorite way to travel is by CRUISE SHIP. We have been on six cruises together (I traveled on two before we were married, and he traveled on one, so my total is eight and his is seven). We love to experience the culture, shopping, and food of the places we visit. We also love photography and capturing moments that we can treasure for a lifetime, but we also understand the importance of living IN the moment and soak it up as much as we can.

We were both born and raised Texans and still live here to this day. I was born/raised in Dallas, while he was born/raised in East Texas (Tyler region). Like I said, we met in college at Dallas Baptist University. We both loved our time there, but unfortunately DBU does not have a football program... so we are both STRONG University of Texas supporters. I was accepted there, but my brother (who graduated from UT) strongly encouraged me to attend DBU instead because he felt UT was too big for me. Boy was he right! But- we love our Longhorns! Hook 'em!

On the blog, you will see oodles of our everyday life (hence, "EVERYDAY" with the Jays). I don't blog everyday, but my schedule will (hopefully) continue to be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. I enjoy sharing about our life and travels (seen above), but I love me a good craft, party, or recipe! Plus, fashion and beauty are things I am beginning to dip my toe into, so you will see bits of that as well!

I am so so SO glad you have decided to join us on our blog journey! Thank you for reading (AND getting to this point, ha! #longpost) and I hope you stick around with us! Leave me a comment sharing where you blog and I can stop by to say hello back! Have a great week!

[teach] WHO Am I?

It is only fitting that the gals at Blog Hoppin' decided to have Teacher Week THIS week, August 18-22, because today is the first day of school for me! All 22 of my new bunch of Kinder babies will walk through my classroom door today and I am anticipating another wonderful year with Kinder!

Each day, I will ::hopefully:: be posting about myself as a teacher. Today is: WHO am I? So here's a bit all about me!

My name is Chrissy Johnson and I am from Dallas, TX. I grew up with two loving parents and a big brother, Michael. I lived there my entire life, graduated from the same high school as my parents and brother, and then it was time for college. I applied to UT in Austin, Baylor, and Dallas Baptist. I was accepted to all three, and I was ::thisclose:: to attending UT because my brother was a senior there. He convinced me that I wouldn't like it, so to DBU I went! And boy am I glad. Some of the BEST four years of my life! Grew in my relationship with Christ, met 4 of my best friends (who I will have for life), and I met my HUSBAND there! And, DBU has THE best Elementary Ed program in the country, so what an amazing turn of events for me! God definitely had a plan. I didn't even start out as an Ed major (I was majoring in Print/Graphic Comm, but changed my major after freshman year).

Okay, so after the fabulous-ness that was college, it was time to get married! Nate actually proposed my junior year, and we were married less than a month after my college graduation. We added to our family in the form of a puppy named Chloe and she is literally like our child... yeah, we're those people!

I had accepted a job at the school I student taught at, but unfortunately had to switch campuses (and grade levels, UGH) due to low numbers in my grade. I didn't have a very good 1st year of teaching (but then again, who does?).We lived in DFW for 10 months before he accepted a job offer in South TX. Mind you, I had NEVER lived more than 20 minutes away from my family. EVER. This was a huge change for me. 4 hours away?! I know it's not that big of a difference in the grand scheme of things, but it was huge to me. 

However, God once again had His hand in it and we have happily lived in South TX for four years now, going on year #5! I accepted a job offer at a private school in our town, and although it was such a huge shift from public education, it has been such a blessing.

We also adopted our 2nd fur baby, Oliver, once we moved here. Such a sweet boy!

My husband is now the head pastor at our church, where I am also involved in our children's ministry. We have an amazing set of friends, along with so many older friends who act more as family since our parents live four hours away. I'm starting my 6th year as an educator in Texas, in my most favorite grade, with my most favorite age of kids. All in all, I am just blessed to enjoy life with my sweet husband, our precious pups, and loving family and friends. Can't thank God enough!

Now, what about you? Can you relate to anything in my story? Can't wait to read y'alls!

Don't forget to link up at Blog Hoppin'!

[love] Five Years

This past Friday (6/13), Nate and I celebrated five years of marriage!

We celebrated by spending the weekend in Austin: nothing extravagant, Austin is only 1.5 hours from our home, but we wanted the weekend to be carefree and relaxing (hence why I did not post my Friday Favorites: we were too busy relaxing! So this is my "favorites" post for the week... favorite photos of US!). And it definitely was. I am so blessed to be Nathan's wife: the foundation for everything he does is in Christ, he leads our household, keeps me safe, loves me unconditionally, and treats me as such. I love, love, love you Nathan! I am so proud of you for all of you have done, both personally and professionally. You are HOT, smart, strong, courageous, determined, and loving. Thank you for all you do for us! Love you!

Here are some snippets from our past five years as husband and wife:

2009: First vacation (besides our honeymoon) as husband and wife to Disney World in Florida!

2010: First snow (with our first pup, Chloe) at our apartment complex in Euless!

2011: Favorite pastime of ours... watching the Texas Rangers!

2012: Another favorite of ours... traveling by cruise ship (this specific trip was in celebration of our three year wedding anniversary)

2013: Road trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico for a wedding. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas (and freezing cold and snowy)!

2014: Enjoying the sun and water in Honduras

“Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God." Ruth 1:16 (our wedding vows)

How do you all celebrate anniversaries? Dinner? Vacation? Party? Do tell. I'll be sharing our anniversary trip this coming week: a review of the hotel we stayed at, and the different things we did/ate while gone. Have a great Sunday (and Happy Father's Day)!

[love] 10 Random Things

I am borrowing Brittany's (from Fun with the Fullwoods) idea on posting 10 Random Things about myself! Like Brittany, I enjoy reading these types of posts from other bloggers because it allows us to get to know one another as a blogging community. So if you are reading, feel free to join the fun and create your own 10 Random Things post!

1. Nathan and I LOVE to travel! We haven't gone anywhere crazy, like to Europe or Asia, but small road trips or even exploring our own state is enjoyable to us. Our favorite way to travel is by ship, via a cruise!

2. Which leads me to point #2, we are AVID cruisers! Nate has been on 6, and I have been on 7 (and we are only in our twenties: we are going to be those little old people on cruises who are "Diamond" members because we've been on so many!)

3. When I was two, I broke my left arm by jumping on my bed. When I jumped off, I landed on the frame of the bed. Whoops! Because I was still developing my bones as a toddler, my arm did not straighten out. Therefore, my left arm is majorly crooked! It looks broken, but it's not :)

4. Our friends mean the world to us: when we first moved to South Texas, it was hard getting to build meaningful friendships simply because there weren't that many people our age or in the same season of life as us. We have been so blessed to get to form a close-knit bond with three other couples from our church. Now we all do everything together! We call ourselves "MNG" because we used to get together every Monday night for dinner at our homes, but now that it's summer, it's a free for all and we get together all the time! So, so thankful for these friends.

5. I am about the pickiest eater you can imagine: I don't like vegetables or seafood, which are two major ingredients in many dishes. Since marrying Nathan, I have embraced guacamole and onions... some seasoned squash is okay... but other than that, I'm still pretty picky! I only drink water (I don't like the way carbonated soda feels running down my throat), and I'm pretty picky about what type of alcoholic beverages I like (I've never tasted beer and never will: if it's not fruity and frozen, I probably won't like it).

6. I am a Pastor's Wife! Nathan is the Senior Pastor at our small church. He has been the pastor for about two and a half years, which before that he worked with the music and youth at the various churches we attended. God speaks through him and Nathan is so blessed with the gift of preaching and teaching. I could never do what he does, but he makes it looks so easy! I'll have to try to post a sermon of his sometime: they are online! Below, he is about to baptize a church member and he is leading our Christian Seder Meal (the Thursday before Easter).

7. I have just completed my fifth year of teaching in TX! What?! I beat the statistic! Most teachers resign from teaching within the first five years because it is so daunting, and believe me- I have thought about it! But I will be continuing to teach, Lord willing, in the fall at my same school as the Kindergarten teacher. I LOVE Kindergarten because it is so fun, interactive, and the kids are precious (most of them, anyways!).

8. My parents have been happily married for almost 33 years. I have a big brother named Michael, who married a sweet gal named Claire. Neither of us have had children yet, but between all of our families, we have five dogs and two cats!

9. My favorite hobbies are: sleeping, taking photographs, spending time with my friends and family, staying in (vs. going out), wearing PJs, being crafty and having the "Psh, I can make that!" attitude, shopping, and planning parties/events.

10. We are the proud owners parents of two fur-babies, Chloe (Jack Russell Terrier) and Oliver (Shih-Tzu) (which, if you've been reading my blog for a while, you are quite aware of these two)!

There you have it! I hope that gives you a bit more of an insight as to who I am. If you have any other questions for me, feel free to ask and we can have a Q&A blog series too! Have a great week!


"I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live." Psalm 116: 2

[What is God trying to tell you today? Call on Him and He will reply!]