Blog Revitalization Time…

November 9, 2009 By

Good morning!!

If anyone is still checking on my blog once in awhile – THANK YOU! I am back. I am going to make a real effort to update this blog daily. Even if it’s “wordless” like posting a picture, or sharing a quick story or even posting some Scripture – I am going to do my best to post daily.

I’m actually very motivated to do this for a few reasons. One is that I’ve missed blogging. I find that my days get filled up and busy, but if I can make time to do mundane things, I can make time to blog. So, I’m going to do that. I’ve also had a few people ask me when I’m going to update, so…here I am.

Until Thanksgiving, I’m going to challenge myself each day to write blog entries about the things for which I am grateful. The order will be completely random since I have quite a few days to write and at this point my thoughts are not organized. However, I know I have more blessings to count than I could ever finish blogging about, so I know I can come up with a few weeks’ worth.

I’m back and I’m bloggin’. Who’s with me?! :)

Happy Monday,
Kelly

Filed Under: Daily Life, Kelly

Happy October!!

October 1, 2009 By

Okay, who can believe that it’s already October?! Seriously. This year is FLYING by at the speed of light. The years definitely seem to get faster the older I get. I guess that’s true of most of us, right? I just can’t get over that today is October 1st because it seems like it was less than a month ago that we were in the midst of summer. Fortunately, October means Autumn and I do love this time of year. It’s been a little bit cooler here lately and it’s so nice. The leaves are starting to change, it’s football season, it’s almost time to pick apples and pumpkins…ahhh! This time of the year is truly great. My only problem with fall is that it leads to winter. ;) So, rather than dwell on dreading the cold, I’m going to enjoy all the great things about fall and have fun while it lasts.

This coming weekend, my good friend Christie and I are going to the small town of Gay,Georgia to the Cotton Pickin’ Fair. The CP Fair is a huge craft fair that is held twice a year and is so much fun! Christie and I are going to leave early on Saturday morning and head on down to the CPF. Can’t wait!!

Mickey is running in our church’s annual road race that benefits Habitat for Humanity this weekend. He’s going to do the 5K race and then he and Macey are going to participate in the 1 mile fun run. I’m sure they’ll have a blast!!

In BIG Mariana news, she has finally given up the pacifier. Yes, she turned three in May, but she was still taking the paci at sleep times. Well, she’s been talking lately about giving it up, so we followed her cues and, sure enough, she’s all done with the pacifier. WOO HOO!! It’s been almost a week and she’s been such a champ about it all. GO MARIANA GO!!

Last week, Macey participated in the Boosterthon Fun Run and Roll at her school. It’s a great fundraiser in which the students collect pledges and then run laps around the “Boosterthon Speedway” to collect money for the school. The track is about 1/16 of a mile and they cap the laps at 35. So, Macey’s goal this year was to do 35 laps. And…she did it! She also did a couple of cool down laps. She was SOOOO proud of herself! Her pledges are still coming in and are due at school tomorrow. She’s thrilled that she not only set her goal, but met and exceeded it!

Mickey is doing well with transitioning to working at home full time. It’s really been a blessing to have him here. We’re gradually figuring how how flexible his hours can be, etc. It’s a process, but it’s all going beautifully thus far.

I should get going so I can get myself and Mariana ready to head out this morning. I’m going to work out at the Y while she plays with her BFF William.

Happy Thursday!

nga_fallThis is a photo I took in North Georgia last Autumn. We were on a hayride at the time.

Filed Under: Daily Life, Family, Kelly, Kids, Photos, school

Wake Up, Blog!!

September 22, 2009 By

My poor blog. If it had feelings, I’m sure it would feel abandoned. And, for good reason, right? I know I haven’t posted in ages. I don’t mean to NOT post, but days just get so busy lately. Between school(s), PTA, gym, church, etc. I am on the go a lot. It’s just crazy busy. Things are good here, just busy.

Things around our area are not so good lately. We had massive amounts of rain in Metro Atlanta over the last week and there is flooding in many areas. Our home and neighborhood haven’t been affected, but we have several friends with water in their basements and/or yards. Some areas have been really hard hit. It’s really tragic for so many. So, please lift up this area in prayer. We are supposed to get MORE rain soon, but it’s sunny here today at long last (first time in over a week), so we’ll take the sun while we can get it.

In happier news, some of our recent happenings are:

  • Mickey is now working full time for himself. He left his job at the church to run his own business. This is both scary and exciting, but we have every trust that it’s the absolute best move for him and our family. He has worked SO hard doing two jobs the last few years (church and his own stuff) and has really wanted to do his own thing full time. He has finally been able to do that and started this week. GO MICKEY GO!
  • Macey is absolutely loving first grade. She has already gotten into the “220 Club” which means that she has correctly read all 220 of this year’s sight words to her teacher. WOO HOO!! She really loves reading, so this was a big honor for her. She is now working on her challenge words for the year.
  • Mariana is in preschool three mornings per week and absolutely has the time of her life! She especially loves going to Spanish on Wednesdays. Everywhere we go, she counts out things in Spanish. So cute!!
  • As for me, like I said – BUSY. But, doing great on the whole. I am doing better about working out and watching what I eat and I’m loving the results!

Hope all is well with everyone…

Kelly

Filed Under: Daily Life, Family, Kelly

Great Deal at Chili’s

August 4, 2009 By

Chili’s has a great deal going on right now. Two people get three courses for $20! The selections are great and have a nice variety. I don’t eat red meat and my husband is a carnivore from the word “go” and we can still find combos to suit us both. Here’s what we got most recently…

Skillet Queso – yes, this has meat in it, but it comes with chips and salsa on the side. Perfect!

chilis_quesoMickey’s entree was an Old Timer Burger:
chilis_oldtimer

My entree was a fire-grilled chicken fajita quesadilla:
chilis_quesadillas

And, our dessert was the famous molten chocolate cake:
chilis_molten

Can you say YUM?! I can! And, for $20 I’ll say it twice – YUM YUM!! (The cost of drinks is extra, but the deal is still fantastic.) The food was great and we really enjoyed it. You just can’t beat that for $20. So, if you have a Chili’s near by, I’d highly recommend checking out this offer while it lasts!

chilis_20

Filed Under: Kelly, Sales/Promos

Well…Hello, August!

August 2, 2009 By

My goodness! August has arrived already. Does this seem surreal to anyone else? I seriously feel that summer has just flown by. It doesn’t seem real to me that school has been out for two months already and is VERY close to starting back again. Wow. We have had an incredible summer and have had so much fun – maybe that’s why it’s flying. Still, it does baffle my poor brain that it’s August. Already. Woah.

So, what have you all been up to lately? That is, if anyone is still out there checking this poor neglected blog. (Sorry about that!) Here are some recent happenings with our family:

  • Macey turned six on July 1st. I posted about it on her birthday.
  • We spend the weekend of the 4th of July with family. On the 4th, we went to my Uncle and Aunt’s place with my mom’s side of the family and spent the whole day swimming, eating, playing games, swimming more, eating more, having a hayride and watching fireworks. It was a WONDERFUL day!
  • Both girls attended our church’s second session of VBS called “Crocodile Dock” in July while I worked doing “Logistics” for elmentary. We all had a great time! VBS was a huge success.
  • About a week after her birthday, Macey got her ears pierced. Our original plan had been to wait until she was older, but we have no regrets. Macey had been talking about it for ages, but never really wanted to go through with it just yet. So, the week after her birthday she revisited the subject, we talked about it in depth (how it would hurt a bit but short-term and how she’d have to take care of them, etc) and she was ready. She was SO brave! She held my hands and squeezed her eyes closed tight when they did both ears at the same time. Never shed a tear. She now has beautiful pink rhinestone flower earrings and is so proud of them.
  • I posted about camp in July too. Mickey and I were so blessed by being able to work at camp this year. It was just so incredible. Words fail to express how awesome it was! I cried and cried on the last morning when the kids left – it was just so emotional! The adults made a “prayer tunnel” to pray over the kids as they were leaving and that was SO powerful, beautiful and emotional. We really loved it and can’t wait to go back!!
  • We joined our local YMCA a couple of weeks ago. We’re going to love it – I can already tell! So much to do as a family there. We went to our first “family swim” today since it was rainy outside and we couldn’t go to our neighborhood pool. We had a ball!
  • PePaw (aka – Scott, Mickey’s dad) is coming to stay with us for about a week. He’ll arrive on Tuesday and we’re all excited. One thing he is going to do while he is here is build a “playhouse bed” for Macey. Basically it will be a playhouse underneath and a bed on top. Macey is so excited! It’s going to be so cool! I’ll have to post pictures of the before/after of her room.
  • Macey starts first grade one week from tomorrow. On Thursday of this week we have our “meet and greet” with her teacher. She is OH SO EXCITED about school! I’m serving as a committee chair for PTA this year, so that’s exciting too.
  • Mariana is excited about starting preschool in late August too. We hope she is in the same class with her sweet best friend, William.

All is well with us. Busy as can be, but great. I hesitate to say that I will update my blog more because that seems to backfire on me. So, I won’t say that, but I’ll hope it and try harder. :) Thanks for bearing with me.

Blessings,
Kelly

Filed Under: Daily Life, Family, Home, Kelly, Kids

Checking in from camp…

July 15, 2009 By

I had hoped to check in daily from camp, but that obviously hasn’t happened. I have been pretty busy, but it’s been just incredible. This camp is just amazing. I have the really cool opportunity to be camp photographer, so I get to see the kids in their elements and get to capture their joy on camera. I love this!!

I have to say that I am really missing our girls. I haven’t been away from them this long before, but I know that they are very well cared for with their Nana (my mom) and they are having a ball. It’ll be a sweet homecoming on Friday, but in the meantime I am just blessed beyond words to have this opportunity to serve here at camp. I am so thankful for this camp and this time!

Kelly

Filed Under: Kelly

Six Years…

July 1, 2009 By

Six years ago today, a lifelong dream of mine came true. I became a mommy. All my life I had dreamed about becoming a mommy. I prayed to be a mom and always knew it was the calling of my heart. On July 1, 2003 that prayer was fulfilled when Macey was born.

I’ll never forget seeing that precious baby girl for the first time. I noticed that she had a head full of hair which I suspected all throughout my pregnancy. (Hello, heartburn!) I noticed that she had round full cheeks. And, in those few short seconds I waited to hear her cry so I’d know she was strong and healthy. She cried and my heart sang.  Seeing the love and emotion that washed over Mickey as he took in the sight of his new daughter was incredibly amazing too. I got to hold Macey skin-to-skin once she was cleaned up and that was just awesome. To hold our daughter, to cradle her to me and to just be with her was beautiful. I was a mommy, at last, and we were a family of three. We could not have been more grateful and we continue to give thanks for our girls every day.

The first few days and weeks were admittedly tiring and trying, but we made it. Looking back now, it seems like the blink of an eye. Who would have thought that six years could pass so quickly? Macey has gone from a beautiful, helpless, chubby, happy and charming baby to a lean, beautiful, sweet, imaginative and caring little girl. She is officially a “first grader” although school won’t resume until August. She can read, write, add, subtract and begin to tell time. She loves to draw, create and cook. She is a big fan of music and always has fun singing and dancing. She is a joy. A delight.  She’s our sunshine.

Having these two girls has blessed our lives immeasurably. There are times, sure, when things are less than perfect, but the sum of our life as a family could not be more perfect. And, to think, this all started with Macey’s birth six short years ago. How blessed we are! I have heard it said before that with parenting the days are long, but the years are short. I could not agree more. I am thankful for every moment with our precious family.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MACEY!! We love you more than words could ever express and we always will!!

Filed Under: Family, Kelly, Kids

Summer Mini-Vacation Photo Recap Part 1 – Nashville

June 23, 2009 By

Be prepared for photo overload. That’s all I’m sayin’. ;) These are some of the highlight photos from our trip to Nashville, TN. We went up on Thursday, June 18th and stayed in Nashville until Saturday, June 20th. We had a wonderful time. Nashville is GREAT!! Love it there!!

Our first adventure was dinner at Rainforest Cafe. Here are Mickey and the girls heading in:
001

Here are the girls in front of the sign:

002

The girls LOVED Rainforest Cafe. They loved all the animals and decor of the restaurant. It was a lot of fun!! After dinner we hit Build-a-Bear Workshop and each girl got to create a stuffed animal. Macey chose a frog which she named Freddy. Mariana chose a HSM bear which she named Gabriella. We walked around Opry Mills a bit and then called it a night. Our first evening in Nashville was quite fun!

On Friday we got ready to head out to the Nashville Zoo . We stopped at a Shoney’s near our hotel and had their breakfast buffet and then went right out to the zoo so we could be there when they opened. That was a wise plan because it was already HOT first thing in the morning.

004

We really enjoyed the Nashville Zoo. It was beautifully laid out and had so much to see and do! Here are some highlights from our visit:

Hyacinth Macaws:

005

Mariana looking cool in the play area:

006

Macey in the snake tunnel:

007

Macey talked her sister into coming into the snake tunnel too:

008

How cool is this play structure?!
009

There were flowers and plants all over the place. So pretty!
010

011

013

016

There was also beautiful scenery such as this wagon near the old plantation home and barn:
012

We got to see so many animals. I won’t post pictures of all of them, but here are a few.

We all thought the girafffes were cool and, of course, we thought of Grammie (Mickey’s mom) when we saw them. She loves giraffes!
014

The elephants were so pretty too:
015

Alligator Cove had quite a few gators in a pond. The girls were very fascinated with them.

017

I thought this stump was pretty cool looking:
018

Macey pointing up at the gator that was floating “above her head”

019

The girls got a souvenir cup with fun straws. What is better than a cool drink on a hot day?!
022

Loved the lamps in the Asian section of the zoo:
020

The photos don’t cover nearly all of what we saw and did at the zoo. Our visit there was SO much fun and I’d highly recommend the Nashville Zoo to anyone visiting or living in that area. We would love to go back and may visit again in the fall when it’s a touch cooler.

On Saturday evening, we went to Aquarium for dinner. Another hit with them – they loved it!! The atmosphere there is what really makes it. The food is okay (somewhat spendy), but it’s a lot of fun to see all the fish, etc. My camera battery went kaput when we got there, so these are the best photos I have from my phone.

The view from our table:023

The girls thought it was VERY cool when the SCUBA diver swam by our table:
024

Here are Mickey and the girls as we were getting ready to leave after dinner:
025

After dinner, we went to Stingray Reef to feed the stingrays and ride the carousel. The girls weren’t altogether too sure about feeding stingrays, but they liked it when other people did it. The stingrays literally come right up to the edge of the tank to be fed shrimp. It’s cool to see! The carousel was a hit with the girls too – they always love carousels. Our second night in Nashville was a lot of fun!!

On Saturday morning we went to breakfast at the “famous” Pancake Pantry in Nashville. Our friend Christie had recommended it and said that we’d probably have to wait in line, but that it was worth it. So, we tried to get there early in an attempt to beat the crowd. I have to say that we did NOT beat the crowd, but we only had to wait about 10 minutes and we did beat the “big” rush. The lines was super long just after we got there and was even longer when we left. The food was fantastic! I asked our waitress about the sweet potato pancakes and she recommended them highly, so I got those with some traditional buttermilk pancakes too. DELISH!!

Here is my plate before:
026

And…after:
027

What can I say?! Those were some DELICIOUS pancakes! If you’re ever in Nashville for breakfast, definitely give the Pancake Pantry a try. Get there early, but still expect a line. :)

After breakfast, we went back to the hotel for a bit. Mickey took the girls to the pool while I got us packed up to leave. Our next stop was Chattanooga. And, that will be tomorrow’s update.

In case it wasn’t clear by the pictures, we had a ball in Nashville. There is so much to see and do there. We hope to go back in the fall, as I said above. Great city!!

Stay tuned for more pictures tomorrow…

Filed Under: Entertainment, Family, Kelly, Kids, Photos, travel

Workin’ it out…

June 12, 2009 By

In keeping with my renewed quest to lose weight and get fit, I made another purchase today that wasn’t an article of clothing. I got this:

Kathy Smith: Cardio Knockout
cardio_knockout

I found it for $4 at Marshall’s and decided to give it a try. I haven’t done it yet, so I’ll have to post a review once I have done the work-outs. There aren’t many reviews on Amazon, but the ones that are on there are all great. I’m excited to give it a try. I still have the Biggest Loser DVDs that I enjoyed so much before also! Hopefully I can do some work-outs at home and start running too. A more slim more fit me is going to happen. WOO HOO!!

Filed Under: Health & Fitness, Kelly

New Clothes!!

June 12, 2009 By

I got to do a little bit of clothes shopping this morning. I had a dress to return for a store credit at Marshalls and then I had a 15% off discount card for Kohl’s. PLUS, I had a little bit of birthday money leftover, so I was on a mission!

Marshalls’ website seems to be down right now, so I can’t even try to find what I got there. Boo. I got a couple of CUTE things including a long sundress that has funky patterns of pink and brown. Love it! Also got some madras plaid shorts that I adore because I just love madras!

I have been wanting a “maxi dress” for quite awhile now. Today, I finally got one! I got this Knot Front Maxi Dress in the “gypsy rust” color. I just love it!! I have discovered that I can wear it tied like they have in the photo OR I can take the straps and loop them around in the front and tie it back for a strapless look.

gypsy_rust

I also got this cute denim skort at Kohl’s:
denim_skort

I also got some CUTE khaki capris, a pink tee, a swimsuit for Mariana and some really cool clearance jewelry. And, guess what?! Per my receipt, I “saved” more than I spent. Sweet!!

My dollars went a long way today and gave my wardrobe a nice little lift. Yay!

Filed Under: Kelly
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »

Follow Me on Twitter

To the Top