• Coffee Dates,  Life

    Let’s Have Coffee | December 2023

    December 6, 2023

    Hey friends! I can’t believe it’s the last month of 2023 already. How did we get here?? I’m really thankful that you’re joining me for another coffee date. This one I’m writing by the light of the Christmas tree and it’s just the best. Today I’m linking up with Bella from Over the Teacups so don’t forget to go and check out her post as well. 🙂

    If we met for coffee, I would ask how your holiday season is going so far? Are you able to cherish the advent of what is to come or are you feeling more heaviness this year? It’s interesting how these seasons where we are meant to really feel God’s presence can sometimes feel like the opposite. We can feel further from God. If you are feeling this way I am praying that you are able to go to God with those feelings and that he meets you there.

    If we met for coffee, I’d share that this year has been such an interesting one for our family. We unexpectedly switched churches in the middle of the year and I can feel God stretching and growing my faith in such a different way than he ever has before. It feels both exciting and scary as I am digging deep into wha the Bible says about different topics, such as salvation and women. Have you ever done deep studies on these topics? If you have, let’s chat. I’d love to have someone to talk to about what I am learning.

    If we met for coffee, I would share that I’ve been thinking about other things that have changed this year as we are nearing the end. I’m both so thankful and still surprised that we actually have grown a lot in community this year. We joined a playgroup for homeschooling and have grown closer to the moms and kids in the group and I’m still thanking God for it. It has been a long process of finding a community where I have felt like I fit in. I know because of how hard of a journey it has been that there’s no way it’s not from God.

    If we met for coffee, I might as well continue our theme of things that have changed over this past year. The last thing that comes to mind that has changed is my vision for how and what I want to spend my time on when it comes to work. If you’ve been around for a while then you know that I have struggled for years to figure out what to pursue as far as working from home. I’m so thankful to finally have found something that I’m excited about but also that seems to be working. My homeschooling Youtube channel and Etsy shop has been really fun to work on throughout the year. I also have felt so much less pressure this year to finally “succeed” in work because I know that it is a long game and I’m happy to be sacrificing my job to stay home with my kids.

    If we met for coffee, I would say thank you so much for being here and for making it this far into my ramblings as to what I’m thankful for this year. While my blog is not something that I’ve spent a whole lot of time on this past year, I’m always thankful to have this home to come back to and I’m thankful for you for being here.

    You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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  • Coffee Dates,  Life

    Let’s Have Coffee | March 2023

    March 2, 2023

    I totally meant to post this yesterday!! So sorry friends!

    If we met for coffee, I would ask how your February was? Normally I feel like February goes really fast because it’s so short but for some reason this month felt extra long. Truth be told, March is actually my least favorite month of the year because here where we live, it’s so hit or miss on the weather. A lot of the time it still is cold like winter but I am praying for some warm weather this month! (Especially since we’ve had the warmest winter in a long time!)

    If we met for coffee, I would share how I have been enjoying homeschooling so much more than I could have ever anticipated. Now that Melly is getting a bit older I have a lot more brain space to start really dreaming about what homeschooling will look like over the years and I am just so excited about it. I’m so thankful that I get to be the one to spend so much time with my kids as they get older and be the one teach them.

    If we met for coffee, I would naturally next then talk about the new Youtube channel I started and how much fun I’m having sharing our homeschool journey. As I was doing research for homeschool, I came across many mamas sharing their journeys on Youtube and it was so fun to see their choices that I decided it would be really fun to share ours. It’s especially fun because I haven’t yet found a community of other moms homeschooling in real life so it’s helpful to at least have that online for now.

    If we met for coffee, I would share that we are about to start solids with Melly this week and that I’m excited but also a bit sad. Watching my babies grow is one of the things that brings me the most joy but it somehow also makes me sad. I just love their little babyness so much, it’s hard to watch it go sometimes. I can’t wait to see how Melly does with eating new foods though!

    If we met for coffee, I would share that I have read eight books so far this year!! I have stuck to my week on, week off Instagram schedule and let me tell you, it has been so life giving. Instead of spending hours a day scrolling endlessly while nursing a baby, I just read books on my phone instead. It’s actually crazy how much time that adds up to each day. My screen time shows that I spend about three hours a day on my phone and now most of that time is spent reading. How fun! 

    If we met for coffee, I would share how Melly has finally started sleeping more regularly and how thankful I am for it. She was going through quite the sleep regression that seemed to last forever. I think we finally have worked through that thank God! On the flip side though, I am now struggling with trying to find the perfect time to try to get out of the house with all three of the kids. I want to try to find a way to more regularly go to different activities outside of the house but honestly it’s been a struggle. Hoping that we can try to make some progress on that in March though.

    Thanks so much for joining us! As a reminder, every first Wednesday (I promise next month it will actually be Wednesday, not Thursday!) Bella from Over the Teacups and I share this little linkup. If you wrote a post too don’t forget to link up with us or join us next month!

    You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

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  • Coffee Dates,  Life

    Let’s Have Coffee | Vol. 20

    December 7, 2020

    Hey friends! Loooong time, no talk. Sometimes when I’ve been gone this long without blogging, I just keep putting off writing a post for even longer because I feel like there’s too much to write about and I just don’t know where to start!

    But I’ve really missed this space so I’ve decided to just jump back in with a coffee date so we can catch up with each other. 🙂

    If we were having coffee, I would first want to know how you are?! We haven’t met for a coffee date since March (!), so I’d want to know all of the things that are going on with you now.

    If we were having coffee, I would share that Riley will be 5 months old in three days and Shane will be three years old in a month! They grow up way too fast! I am really enjoying this season with them so much though. I can’t believe how much Shane can understand and do now. I can’t wait to bake Christmas cookies with him soon. It’s going to be so much fun. We are also really enjoying having a baby in the house again. This time around has gone so much smoother, which means that we can fully enjoy the season of having a baby.

    If we were having coffee, I’d share that our Etsy shop has been doing really well lately and it’s been really fun to have that as a little side business to help with finances. Actually, speaking of finances I would also share that I started following Marissa’s Youtube channel this year and she has really inspired me take more control of our finances. I’m thinking about sharing more about this on the blog because it’s been really awesome and I’d love to share what I’ve learned.

    If we were having coffee, I would share that I’m feeling really excited to start blogging more often and have made an Instagram account specific to my blog. If you want to follow me over there you can click here or my name there is ashleyzinblog. I’m hoping to share more about our days over there soon.

    If we were having coffee, I would ask how you are feeling about Christmas this year. This year has been so odd and especially hard but I’m super excited for our first Christmas as a family of four. I’m just about done Christmas shopping too and I can’t wait to get everything in the mail and start wrapping presents!

    Thanks for spending some time with me and catching up!

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  • Coffee Dates,  Pregnancy

    Let’s Have Coffee | Vol. 19

    March 10, 2020

    If we were having coffee, I would most likely share with you why I’ve been MIA last week. Our house got hit with some nasty colds. On Thursday I was completely out of commission and had a fever all day. I decided to go to an urgent care and make sure it wasn’t the flu (which it wasn’t thankfully). I started to feel better on Friday and then woke up on Saturday with another fever and started feeling more and more sick as the day went on. Shane had also started a fever either Friday or Saturday (it’s really all a blur now) and was super sick with me all day Saturday and Sunday. I think the fact that the coronavirus is going around at the same time as all of this really didn’t help with moral and I was really scared with how sick we were. Fortunately our fevers finally broke on Monday and we are on the mend now and feeling much better!

    If we were having coffee, I’d probably mention how scary it is to be sick while pregnant. I would feel bad about talking about being sick for so long, but would really want to process everything I felt with someone. I know that Tylenol is “technically” safe for pregnant women to take but I had to take it basically around the clock for three days to keep my fever down (plus when I was sick around 14 weeks for a day) and it does scare me a little bit. In the grand scheme of things I do realize though that everything will be okay and I am just so thankful that we are healthy now and not needing medicine anymore! 😅

    If we were having coffee, I would likely want to change the subject to something much more positive! I’d share that another reason I’ve been a little less active on the blog is because our Etsy shop is doing so well right now! We are so excited and thankful because it really came at a time where the extra money is very helpful. It has been so fun and satisfying working on Etsy lately.

    If we were having coffee, I would share about how I will be 22 weeks pregnant on Thursday and how I can’t believe how fast this pregnancy is going! It’s so true how they say it’s so different than your first. There is just so much less time to think about being pregnant because of taking care of your first baby and everything else in your life. I would share about how we are thinking about having Shane and the new baby share a room when the new baby is around 6-8 months old. Shane will have just turned 3 at that point. I would ask if you have any advice on room sharing with a baby and a toddler. I am hopeful but also a little nervous about it because Shane is a very light sleeper. We do have a third bedroom, but it is upstairs so we could move Shane up there if all else fails.

    If we were having coffee, I would share that I am starting to feel a little bit overwhelmed with all the things I want to get done in the house before the baby arrives. I’m trying to remind myself that things don’t need to be perfect but it’s so difficult to really believe that!

    If we were having coffee, I would ask how you’ve been this past month and apologize about how I’m sort of all over the place right now. That’s just how my brain is at the moment. I’d love to hear what is new with you though!

    Linking up with Lecy. Join us every second Tuesday for a coffee date!

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  • Coffee Dates

    Let’s Have Coffee | Vol. 18

    February 11, 2020

    If we were having coffee, I would ask what your regular go to breakfast is. Over the past month or so Tommy and I have gotten really serious about our budget. One way we have committed to saving money was to stop buying so many options for breakfast, especially to stop buying cereal. Now we usually have either eggs or oatmeal and it’s helped our budget a ton but it also makes us feel a lot better to have a complete breakfast rather than some sugary cereal. I love hearing the mundane details of other people’s lives so I’m curious to hear what you eat for breakfast.

    If we were having coffee, I would probably end up talking about how it’s been so cloudy and rainy lately. I have been trying to make the best of this winter and honestly it has been a good winter especially since it has been such a warm winter here. But it’s so hard to stay motivated on days where it’s so cloudy or rainy. All I want to do is nap, haha! I’m so excited for warmer weather and being able to spend time outside again!

    If we were having coffee, I would mention that we find out in two weeks if baby is a boy or girl! I honestly can’t believe it’s so soon already! This pregnancy is flying by!! We’re going to have a baby in this house again before we know it! We have so much to do to get ready. Oh and since we were already talking about babies, I would likely mention that my sister-in-law is pregnant too! She’s due just one month after me! So much excitement!

    If we were having coffee, I would share that I have been having so much fun blogging more regularly. I’m not sure I have ever blogged this regularly before. Once I stopped putting pressure on myself to grow more quickly and stopped comparing myself to other bloggers it really became fun. Have you ever struggled with any of that? It’s paralyzed me for far too long and I’m so glad I was able to come to a place of just writing for me (and to connect with you too!).

    If we were having coffee, I would ask if you have any fun plans for Valentine’s Day or for the rest of the month. We don’t really do anything for Valentine’s Day but I’d love to hear what you have planned.

    If we were having coffee, if you are a stay-at-home mom I would ask if you were involved in any type of playgroup or MOPS or anything like that. I feel like I really should get involved with other moms and have more of a community, but I am very shy and it feels very intimidating to join something like that. Please tell me it’ll be worth it, lol!

    If we were having coffee, I would ask for prayers for discernment for my husband and I. We both have dreams of working from home but it takes a lot of work and time to build something like that. I’m excited for our future though. But we could use all the prayers we could get in this area. I’d also ask how I can be praying for you. I want to start a prayer journal and really focus more on praying for others.

    Linking up with Lecy. Join us every second Tuesday for a coffee date!

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  • Coffee Dates,  Life

    Let’s Have Coffee | Vol. 17

    January 16, 2020

    If we were having coffee, I would tell you that it was Shane’s 2nd birthday on Sunday! I would tell you all about our day and share that it was such a special day and that we had so much fun! I would also share that I can’t believe we have a two year old! Time goes by so so fast!

    If we were having coffee, I would likely talk about how I am just itching for summer to come back already. We are just dying to get back to the beach. The winters are just so long and we always feel like we are just stuck inside with nothing fun to do. I would ask what you do to get out of your house during the cold dreary months.

    If we were having coffee, I would ask how your new year is going. I would ask if you set any goals this year and would love to hear about them. I would share that I don’t really do specific goals but would really like to start. I would ask you how you stick to your goals. I struggle with even really remembering what my goals are and have a hard time really picking what’s important to focus on anyway.

    If we were having coffee, and we were really close, I would probably talk about my struggle to really find my footing as a stay at home mom. I would explain that its hard to explain but that I do really love staying home and being the one to care for my son. I don’t ever seriously consider that as not an option and am incredibly grateful to be able to have the opportunity to do it. But at the same time there is just a longing to be able to help more financially and to have another “part” of my life.

    If we were having coffee, I would share that part of challenging myself to 90 days of no social media was to help me hear from God and to get some clarity about my struggle as a stay at home mom. I would say that God has shown up a lot so far and that I’m eager to share more once it makes more sense.

    If we were having coffee, I would ask about how you’ve been, really been. I would want to know the exciting things happening in your life as well as what you were struggling with. There’s something so special about sitting together in a coffee shop and sharing our hearts with each other.

    Linking up with Lecy. p.s. friends, I have some exciting news coming to my blog on Monday! Don’t miss it! 😉

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