Welcome
Welcome friend!
Hi, I’m Christen. I’m the wife to Raleigh and the mom to Adeline, Maralee, Ridley, and Raleigh James. Our family lives in Dothan, Alabama (otherwise known as the “Circle City”). This place is where I like to journal the big and small moments that make up our days. Here you will find journal entries about our home, Price Place, foods I enjoy making, and our favorite recommendations of restaurants and activities here in the Circle City and our home away from home, scenic 30-A.
I started blogging the year before the twins were born because I felt like there were words inside of me that I needed to get out of my head and write on paper. My hope is that this space will not only chronicle our daily lives, but become a spot where you feel like you have a friend who feels a lot of the same junk you feel - the good, the bad, and the ugly! So take a seat, friend, and know you are welcome here!
A little about us:
Raleigh is an architect but also an amazing athlete. You’ll find us cheering him on at races every year!
I work at our children’s school part-time in communications and also am the founder of The Rest + Full Project, which is a community that helps busy women remove distractions + fight fatigue by providing spiritual, emotional, and physical guidance. I’m also the author of Invited: Live a Life of Connection, not Perfection. The Rest + Full Project is where you can find out more about my books, devotionals, and guest speaking opportunities.
Adeline and Maralee are mirror twins and are trying new things together and individually. They are artistic, athletic, and adventurous (Paris is on their bucket list!). These girls were born early at 27 weeks and I’ve written very openly about the guilt and shame I felt in those early days of motherhood as I watched our girls grow inside an incubator in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. They were able to come home after 83 days in the hospital on my 26th birthday…what a gift to celebrate!
Ridley is our kind-hearted son who loves his friends and family big. He constantly surprises me with his intellect and ability to remember things I easily forget. Ridley wants to go to outer space when he grows up and will drink an Orange Fanta any day of the week.
Raleigh James is our youngest son. Yes, he’s adopted, if you can’t tell by his dark skin! We adopted RJ domestically and met his birth parents before he was born, which is a moment we will forever be grateful for. He is a giggle box and full of mischief but his grin gets him out of lots of trouble! Adopting RJ has taught our family to talk openly about race and skin color, and has prompted Raleigh to lead the Facebook group, “More Like Micah.” After going through our domestic adoption experience, we also serve the adoption community by creating custom adoption profile books for families at Adopt Profile Book.
I don’t share all of this to make you think we have our lives altogether. Because we don’t. I’m a creative mess and involved in way too many things, which has led to feelings of discouragement and rejection. I’ve often asked God if I took a wrong turn and I forget to notice all that is true, beautiful, and good because I’m so, so, tired from trying to do it all. I thought about letting go of my family blog because my work, children’s activities, and ministry can drain me of any extra ounce of creative energy. But, that’s the exact reason why I’ve started over. I need a place that is just for me to share and document what I’m learning and also what I think is fun and light-hearted. Sound good? Join me, if you’d like, but if you don’t, I’m actually okay with it.
Best,
Christen
