Some pictures I haven't shared anywhere else on the internet + a recap of our Christmas in Kansas!

A game we love, some changes we're making for 2024, and more! Hi, Friend! I hope you had a special Christmas! We traveled to Wichita, KS (where both of our families are from) and have been enjoying lots of offline time this week! We tried something different this year: Jesse and I drove to Kansas with our three youngest and the older three flew. This gave the older three a fun adventure, it was a lot less expensive than us all flying, and it allowed Jesse and I to travel at a very leisurely pace. We stayed in an AirBNB for the first time as a family and that's been good overall, though our kids definitely miss the hotel breakfasts (we stayed in a hotel on the way here, so Micah and Kierstyn did get to experience hotel breakfast -- which they were so excited about!) and not only did our heat go out but then the faucet broke! We felt badly to keep needing to contact the AirBNB hosts... but they were incredibly gracious! One of the best parts of having an AirBNB is having more room to spread out and for the kids to play! In addition, it was nice to not have to worry about our little kids being loud and disturbing hotel guests in the room next door! How We're Changing Things Up for the New Year Jesse and I are driving back to TN today with the three youngest again and I'm excited to jump back into life and start a new year. I'm one of those people who LOVES the fresh start aspect of a new year. (I'm [like Kierstyn in this video when it comes to goal-setting](=)!) In addition, Kierstyn is starting preschool four mornings a week at a little Classical school that Silas and Kaitlynn went to a few years ago. So that means we'll have a new morning routine as we will need to all be out the door with the three youngest around 7:25 a.m. With this in mind, we've re-engineered our evening routine and our morning routines so that we can (hopefully) have early bedtimes and smooth mornings. I always say that a successful morning starts the night before -- and this change in our schedule is definitely going to mean that we'll need to set ourselves up for success the night before! I'll share more on the podcast that drops on Tuesday and in next week's email newsletter about the changes we are making to facilitate better mornings and evenings! I'm excited at how this change might make a big difference in our entire day -- and lives! My parents live out in the country on 56 acres and Kierstyn had so much fun playing outdoors on the day it wasn't freezing cold! My dad took her on the teeter totter and trampoline and she thought it was amazing that they have their very own playground! = Since we drove down to Wichita earlier than our older three flew down, we got to spend Christmas Eve with my family. I was so excited that we got a picture where everyone is matching and looking at the camera at the same time. That is a big win! :) I took this picture on the elevator after we had made it to Wichita with the three younger ones. We'd been driving for 7+ hours and had only had one quick stop and were SO ready to be in our hotel room. We somehow had lost Kierstyn's shoes in the car and she'd managed to spill something on her shirt, but we made it and everyone was still mostly smiling! Pictured above are all the cousins on Jesse's side of the family! His family has a tradition of taking cousin and sibling pictures every Christmas morning! We are really grateful that both sets of our parents live about five minutes apart from each other! So our longstanding tradition is to spend Christmas Eve with my family, Christmas morning with Jesse's family, Christmas lunch with my family, and Christmas dinner with Jesse's family. It is a bit of a whirlwind, but it also means we don't miss out on really any of the fun or family time! Links You Might Be Interested In: - Kickstart your January with our [FREE 60 Super Quick Meal Ideas to Make Instead of Getting Takeout](=)! I’ve been meaning to compile this list for quite a long time? I am so excited it is finally done so I can share it with you (and use it with my own family)! - [1000 Hours Outside]( -- One of my goals for 2024 is to get 1000 hours outside, inspired by Ginny Yurich. I'm going to be looking for all the things we can do outdoors instead of indoors. Another habit/goal I set is to have sunlight before screens and I've been challenging myself to wake up and watch the sunrise (or at least get outside and look at the sky for a few minutes!) before I look at any screen. This has already been SO good for me! = My dad gave Kathrynne a basket of all sorts of things one might need or want as a college student/new home owner (well, she doesn't technically own the home as she is renting her house from us, but you get the idea!) and one of the items was card games including our favorite card game: [Dutch Blitz.]( Have you played it before? We grew up playing it and it's such a favorite of ours. It works great for smaller or larger groups, too! Speaking of games, we also played the [Saran Wrap Ball game]() at Christmas with Jesse's family. His sister, Lisa, had spent hours buying things at Dollar Tree and Five Below and making the ball and it was a hit! If you're not familiar with this game, you can [read how to play it/how to make the ball here.]() My mom, my sister Olivia, and my nephew all went on a coffee date to Newton, KS. If you live around Newton and haven't been to [Norm's Coffee Bar](, I highly recommend it. They had great coffee (I got a decaf latte, my drink of choice at a coffee shop), lots of seating, yummy-looking food choices, and even an area with games and toys for little kids! Plus, right around the coffee shop are some really cute stores you can shop at or browse through! We also went with most of Jesse's family to Illuminations at Botanica in Wichita, KS -- it's a Christmas light display that you walk through. It was cold but enjoyed it -- and our little ones did so well! Kierstyn was beside herself that they had a carousel! And she was especially excited that she got to ride on the unicorn! Two of my older kids are now taller than me. :) Will (Kathrynne's boyfriend) flew down to join us for 2 1/2 days and the older kids had fun showing him around Wichita as he'd never been to Kansas before! This was where Kathrynne lived for half of her childhood so she has a lot of memories in Kansas! All in all, this Christmas week arrangement of trying new things (see second paragraph) was a big success and Jesse and I felt it was our best Christmas yet! We're excited for what 2024 will bring and I can't wait to share it with you as it unfolds! Have a wonderful weekend -- and look for a fun surprise email from me on Thursday with a really special something I've been working on for the past few months and can't WAIT to share with you! Speaking of which, before I sign off... = Did You Get Your Freebie? Did you get your belated Christmas gift from me? Download our brand new [FREE printable: 60 Super Quick Meal Ideas To Make Instead of Getting Takeout](=)! And guess what? When you sign up, you’ll also be the very first to know about another meal-time game-changer I’m releasing in January. So much meal-time goodness is headed your way! Get your [FREE 60 Super Quick Meal Ideas to Make Instead of Getting Takeout](=). I can’t wait to hear what you think! Here's to a great start to 2024! -Crystal [Unsubscribe]( Money Saving Mom, LLC 2020 Fieldstone Parkway, Ste. 900 #313 Franklin, Tennessee 37069 United States