[life] Guys Behind the Blog // May 2015

 Linking up with Betsy for Guys Behind the Blog: May

This is such a fun link-up! I like getting Nate involved in the ol' blog. Every month, Betsy compiles questions for us all to ask the fellas in our lives. See Nate's April responses here!

For the month of May...

1 // What is your favorite family tradition?

 "Like, ours...?"

(He gave me a glare as I typed that... ha!)

"Stop typing!" 

(... Thinking... Scratching the beard... )
 

"My favorite family tradition of ours, daily tradition, is walking the dogs. Year tradition, driving to Dallas and Tyler to see our families for the holidays."

2 // Who's your male celebrity crush? 

"Dave Matthews because he's a ninja on the guitar and all he wears is jeans, boots, and t-shirts."

3 // What song best sums you up?
"Washed by the Water" by Needtobreathe 

(This question took quite a bit of thought because Nathan is an avid music fan... He loves it, loves all different styles for different reasons... I mean, he IS a Music Business major... So music really is his business!)

4 // What three things do you think of the most each day?
"You (as in, me: Chrissy). Theology. Eternity."

 

5 // What is your most embarrassing memory?

"Probably getting pulled over by undercover police because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I happened to be in a parking lot when police were waiting to do a drug bust and they thought I was the guy." (Good thing he proved it wasn't him, ha!)


There you have it! Another glimpse into the mind that is Nate. Betsy's link-up will go live on May 28th, so be sure to follow her so you can read about other blog fellas! How would your guy respond to these questions? Have a great week!

[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!

[life] Guys Behind the Blog//April 2015

from Betsy's Guys behind the blog series

I found this link-up through Crystal at "Hall Around Texas". Go visit her and say HELLO! Keep this in mind, I asked him these questions while The Masters golf tournament was on TV....

April's questions:

Q // Has Starbucks ever spelled your name wrong on a cup? If yes, what's the craziest way that someone has spelled it?
Nate: "Uh, no."

Q // Who would play your wife/fiance/girlfriend in a movie or TV show about your lives?
Nate: "What, an actress? Are you typing that too? Are you typing THAT too?" X3. "Um, Penelope Cruz."

Q // What is your proudest accomplishment? 
Nate: "I haven't done it yet, but getting my Masters in July."

Q // What is your favorite holiday and why? 
Nate: "Christmas. I like the festivities and the meaning and the family time."

Q // What is your favorite breed of dog?  If you don't have a favorite breed, describe the characteristics of your ideal dog (or cat)!
Nate: "German Shepherd. And Jack Russell. And Shih-Tzu." 
note: Chloe is a Jack Russell and Oliver is a Shih-Tzu. #pupdad 

How fun was this? Nate's excitement probably doesn't match mine... but that's okay! It's always good to know about the fellas in our life... I mean, his name is on the signature with mine, so he has a portion of this blog too! 

Tell me, how would your guy do on questions like this? Participate with gusto, or throw his arms up by your "tomfoolery" like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory below (at minute 1:16)?

 Happy almost weekend!

[love] Anniversary Recap

Sorry for my lack of posting: the past month has been crazy! After our anniversary weekend, Nate was admitted to the hospital! Crazy, I know. He had appendicitis and had to get his appendix removed, which knocked him out for about a week or so. He couldn't lift over 20lbs, so I had a LOT to do around here, especially since we were leaving to go to the beach for the week with his family. Crazy! So we had the appendix episode, we were at the beach, I had GT training for 5 days, it was the 4th of July and we were out of town, and then I've been in my classroom basically all week trying to get a head start on setting it up (I got new carpet this summer so my room was a wreck)! I know, these are ALL excuses. BUT here's a post that was meant to go live the day before Nate's appendix... whoops! I have missed y'all!

 
To see my review of the hotel we stayed at during our anniversary weekend, click here.

Nathan and I were excited to spend our five-year anniversary weekend in Austin, which is only 1.5 hours from our home. We felt less pressure to "do" everything and "eat" everything we wanted, simply because we can go back anytime. It was so nice! Here's a recap of the things we saw and ate (of course!) during our weekend. I'll let the pictures do the talking :)

A snippet of the times we had in Austin: such an AMAZING city and there is plenty more that we want to see and do! Thankful that it is a short distance away. Everything we ate was delicious (as you can tell from the pictures above) and the stores/shops we visited were so fun. I highly recommend a trip to ATX if you have never been!

Happy Sunday! And here's hoping that a regular posting routine will soon commence...

P.S. I am taking part in a Scavenger Hunt with the gals at BlogHoppin, which is a teacher blog: if I get at least 105 points between now and Aug. 6th, I will be entered into a drawing to win some FAB prizes, which include a Canon Rebel camera!!!! So, sorry to be blowing up y'alls Instagram feeds, but #sorrynotsorry ;) Have a good weekend!