Christmas 2012

 This Christmas definitely had it's fair share of highs and lows. But overall, I got to spend it with those I love, and I can't complain about that.

Christmas Eve Eve I spent baking with my sister and her girls. Then my brother-in-law and nephew joined us for Christmas gifts. I always have so much fun with them all and it's crazy to see how much they've all grown. My nephew is almost as tall as me. My oldest niece is getting there, and my youngest niece is now in third grade!!! She told her mom she wanted to quit homeschooling to be in my class. Too cute.

 And of course besides Gia making her third costume change of the day (a record low) which consisted of a princess crown and dress......we had Scratchy join us for some family time too.

 Later that night Steven and I enjoyed trading presents and catching up with a friend of ours who we rarely get to see these days.

Christmas Eve was spent  mostly in the hospital, ER to be exact. Not what any of us had in mind, but poor Steven and I rushed off early in the afternoon and waited for him to get a room. His sweet, sweet family raced up that day and spent the next couple days with him. Later that night, I went to my parents' place for dinner. Even though it was a little tough to be away from Steven, it was so nice to be with my parents and Aubre (and of course to eat that amazing Christmas meal).

The next morning after unwrapping gifts and texts and calls to loved ones, we joined Steven and his family at the hospital and exchanged more gifts. Luckily, Christmas was the last night we spent in the hospital and later the next day he was finally released to go home!!!

 One of the best gifts was a Joel Osteen book my mom got from my stepdad- that was signed by Joel himself. Sometimes my stepdad really does just amaze me. And his love for my mom is overwhelming- it truly reminds me of what real love looks like sometimes.

It may not have been the perfect Christmas, but it really made me count my blessings. And I am so extremely and eternally grateful that we have a Savior who came to this world and died for us. I know that with all the holiday chaos, presents and distractions is easy to forget the reason we celebrate this day, but He really is the most amazing cause for celebration and the most amazing gift one could ever get. That is reason enough to be happy.

I hope yall had a wonderful Christmas (or other holiday) as well.
Much love,
kel

merry christmas~

my ministry for Him

I recently read this amazing book, Kisses From Katie. I was truly and deeply inspired and touched by it. And then I wandered upon a new blog (thanks to instagram). Afterwords, I began thinking about my life, my ministry for God.

I admire these women (some who are even younger than me) who have literally given it all up for the Lord. With the calling in their hearts, they left all that they knew, everything that was comfortable and left for an unknown land where God had so much in store for them. They were to be a vessel for Him to show His love to all they encountered. To make a difference for and through Him.
What an amazing thing, to be doing something so great for the good of the Lord. To know that you are doing exactly what He wants and where He wants.

My best friend has been doing this as well, as well as a few other friends I've had. They gave up their normal and stable lives here in Florida, here in the US, and left to fulfill the Lord's plans for their lives. Most made their way back to the US eventually (or even to Florida), but their faith and love of Christ was strengthened through this walk of theirs.
I always envied this kind of life. To give it all up for the Lord. To not know what I would be doing in this foreign land, but only knowing that it was what God was asking me.
But can I truly have this life when I seem to be struggling with knowing what God is saying to me now. In my everyday life? Like every other Christian, I struggle with knowing how to follow Christ all the time. I struggle with calling onto Him for every need I have. I think that I can do it on my own, and so I forget to ask Him. To praise Him. To thank Him. To love Him.

But then I wonder about my life. About what I am doing to help establish and further the kingdom of God, if anything at all because honestly most days I feel like I am doing nothing for Him and it truly makes my heart ache. He is the only reason I am here. The only reason that I didn't give up hope long ago. The only reason I get out of bed some mornings. And then I realized that even the Bible tells us that not all of us are meant to travel to a foreign land to fulfill His purpose and share His love. Some of us are meant to simply share His love, His peace, and His will with those in our own community. 

I've wanted to be a teacher since I was five years old. People always ask me why. What led me to that decision. Was there a teacher that sparked this choice? I've never known how to answer, because I've never even realized what they answer was. But suddenly this past weekend it hit me. Teaching was never my intent for myself really, it was all God's. I never had to make the hard choice of what degree I wanted, what career I wanted, or even what school I wanted, because all along He was making those choices for me. He wanted me here. Now. Doing this work. Now that I look back, it makes sense as to why I didn't feel quite like I was where I should be, or doing what I should be. I was preparing for this journey, for this career, for this life. A life where I could share Christ's love to all the students in my life by loving them as Christ loved me first. How could I not see that before?
Some of my students come from loving homes with two parents. But a lot of my students don't. They haven't been loved in the way that Christ loves us. But they can't understand Him or love Him without first seeing what it is to love (a line I read in Kisses From Katie).
With all of this now swirling in my mind, all I want is to be full of Christ's love. To be so consumed by Him and His love for all that my heart explodes with love for everyone I encounter, for every child I teach or hug. Even the trouble makers that make my job more difficult, I want to love them so much that even they see what it is to love like Him.
And while I already missed my sweet and precious students, I can't wait to go back. I can't wait to shower them with love and teach them not only what they need to know, but also what Christ wants them to know.

Thank you Lord, for reminding me of Your purpose for me all along. Thank you for giving me the love I have for these students and for children. Thank you for showing me that I can learn from them as well. They have the most generous hearts at times and they remind me of how amazing You are. Please Lord Jesus, help me in the coming year to give that love back to them even more than I have before. Help me to not run out, but continue to love as You have loved, never ceasing.
All these things in Your Holy Name I pray,
Amen.

a lovely list of sites

Not sure what to do with all those turkey leftovers? We weren't either until I stumbled upon this site. We're trying this one tomorrow night (fingers crossed).

31 diy projects I wish I had thought of, but could sure use for Christmas gifts this year!!!

An amazing Christmas medley- 40 Christmas songs in 16 minutes. A must watch!!

So many wonderful diy projects with sharpies!!!

Amazing recipe for pumpkin cupcakes (that I tried out for the first time for my school's garage sale!!).
And some amazing pumpkin spice latte cupcakes that I think will only feed my Starbucks pumpkin spice addiction!

Draw a stick man, and keep drawing to create a story...interesting concept .

An amazing shop with some of the cutest rings!

A new (to me) blog that I absolutely love!

Mixtapes by categories.... pretty sweet idea!

Ok this post is pretty amazing.....how do you know you're a teacher? (so true!!!)

A holiday playlist by one of my favorite bloggers.

And two blogs that I have fallen in love with because they ladies that write them are truly amazing and full of Christ's love. Kisses from Katie and Wandering with Mary

DC with Leigh

This past week I went to DC to visit my bestie, Leigh. It was just what I needed.... lots of bff time and a break from my everyday life. School had me stressing out some, so it was nice to leave the first day of my winter break and get to act silly and carefree. It makes me miss Leigh so much though. She and I have been such good friends for so long and sometimes I feel like she's one of the few people that actually gets me (and loves me for my weirdness).
It was only 5 short days, but we accomplished so much!!!!

xoxoxo
kel

a very pinterest christmas

Last weekend the girls and I decided to have another pinterest party, this time making gifts and such for the holidays. I mean seriously, what's more fun than a night with your girlfriends, good food, wine, and crafts??

The crafts:

 

 This one was my idea. I actually first saw on pinterest the idea to make a sort of collage from maps of states, but then after seeing some etsy finds, I decided I wanted to also make an ornament of the state I've always lived in. 

The girls each made ornaments from where they were from and also a collage that included the state they were born in, their spouse, where they fell in love, and where their baby (if they had one) was born. They all turned out super cute.

The above photo is my friend Jen's version of the ornament. 

PS the link to where to find the printable state maps is here.

  

The above craft our friend Chelsea actually made up on her own, not from pinterest. It was honestly one of the coolest things I've ever made and while mine was very Christmasy, it doesn't have to be (and in fact the other girls really weren't). 

The instructions were really simple too. 

She got each of us a piece of wood (a perfect square and about 12 x 12), ribbon and a decorative piece of leaves or flowers, and hot glue. 

We cut the ribbon to make the background and hot glued it down. While I simply layered one kind, other girls did different kinds of ribbon and even different styles and colors. 

Then you hot glue the flower or garland on top. 

To hang it, some of the girls hot glued ribbon in the back to hang from a nail, but I simply propped mine up on the mantle. 

Easy peasy and totally cute!

 

 

Another craft, was Jen's. While she first got the idea from Elsie's mug (or something like it) she instead found cute bowls to decorate instead. And since I am in major want of a puppy, I decided to make mine a puppy bowl. And yes I have already named the guy.... Max for Maximus. 

Two other crafts (that I couldn't get good pictures of...darn!!!) that we made were:

a twine and bell garland to hang up Christmas cards

and 

a rope bowl (perfect for holding all those pens, make-up brushes, or whatever else).

The garland we decorated with jingle bells throughout and then used glitter covered pins to hang up the cards. Something kind of like it (but not exactly, can be found here- I couldn't find the original link though sadly).

(How to make the pins can be found here).

The rope basket was tons of fun (even though I screamed each time I burned myself with the hot glue gun....which was a lot!!) But you can find great pictures and the tutorial here.

And then the food and drinks..... we tried a new pink wine (which was pretty awesome!!) and then we all brought food.

There was an anchovy dip (wish I could find the recipe because it was amazing.

mozz ball with basil and cherry tomatoes (app recipe found here)

the entree (which I made), spaghetti squash

green beans (seriously need that recipe too!!!)

and an amazing desert filled with cookie dough, brownie, and everything else amazing

Give me your pinteresting ideas too!!! Or find me on pinterest!!

Happy pinteresting!

-kel

saving memories or hoarding?

I'm a pretty big fan of the show Hoarders. Perhaps its because its one of those "guilty pleasure shows" or maybe it's slightly out of fear that it may be a glimpse of my future.

Just kidding.

Kinda.

It was always hard to throw things away or donate them even. I'm not sure if it was something I was taught or just something I picked up on my own, but I always felt a tiny bit guilty for not keeping something. What if I needed it later? What if I could actually make it into something awesome? What if I needed it when I finally became a teacher? All these questions nagging me in the back of my mind eventually kept me from giving things (or too many things) away. In the end, I had a giant closet full of things that I barely touched, let alone looked at.
Then Steven came into my life. And I realized that all I was doing was holding onto things that I would never use or need again. Some things had meaning and I wanted to hold onto for longer, but others I no longer needed.
Of course, while watching Hoarders (even though I know I could never be that bad) I also realized that all those silly nagging questions only made things worse. If I was ever going to make it into something else, I would have. If I really needed it that badly later, I could just buy a cheaper one then (unless it was something rare). And now that I am a teacher, if I haven't found a possible need for it yet, I won't.

Then a couple of weekends ago my school had a garage sale (see above picture).
My mom and amazing girl friends helped contribute and also helped bake so that we could make some more money for the kiddos.
And then a hoarders worst nightmare (hahaha).... my mom pointed out a lot of the stories behind my "for sale" items. Of course, knowing who I got something from or even who made it (or even worse, realizing that it was once my mom's) made it almost impossible to get rid of. I didn't need it anymore, and there are really only so many stuffed animals you can keep in your 20's  (with no kids) and not seem like a crazy person). But I felt that slight feeling of guilt again. All of these things were attached to memories and I felt like if I let them go, the memories my even fade.

So it got my thinking..... when we give into that feeling are we saving memories or are we merely hoarding??

-kellie

witches, and vampires, and warewolves, oh my

Yes I am admitting this.....for the past few weeks I have been helplessly addicted to this show. I have been catching up from the very beginning and you can ask Steven, it takes up a lot of my free time. You know, the little amount that I have.
So many of my friends keep convincing me that I will turn into Team Damon, but while I find him to be a lot more attractive than in the beginning, I am now and have been from the start, Team Stefan.
What team are you on??

-kel

Thanksgiving in Pensacola

image found on pinterest

This past weekend, Turkey day weekend, I got to go home. It's one of the many traditions I love about the holidays. It always consists of spending time with family friends, eating way too much food, and reminiscing.  Every year we go, I seem to always get the best sleep and I always feel like I'm on vacation. Our Pensacola family is truly amazing and I love every single one of them. And it's so sweet to see each year how our little group grows larger as the younger generation (my generation) finds themselves getting married and having kids. Meals therefore are no smaller than 13 and I love that. I also love getting to hear about my dad from the people that knew him so well (and for longer than I did). 

The only sad part about the weekend is that it's over and I have to wait 300+ days until we get to go back again.

So until then........

-k

'tis the season

It was a full weekend. A very full weekend. And I still can't believe Thanksgiving is a few days away, and Christmas only right around the corner. 

There is so much to do and so little time, but I am going to try my absolute hardest to take in all of this holiday season and not let it fly away. 

And I already started by taking some Christmas photos for a friend and her family. Now...who else can I rope into getting pictures done by me??

-kel

thankful list

photo found on pinterest

I am thankful for.....

my Savior, who died for me

my amazing mom, who would do anything for me

my dad, who taught me so much in our short time together

my boyfriend who is always trying to take care of me

my stepdad who always give his all

my soulmate Leigh, who loves me and gets me through all my craziness

for my amazing friend Jen, who is always there for me when I need it

for my sweet friend Erica, who reminds me how to be a good friend 

for my sister, who shares more with me than just blood

for my nieces and nephew, who always make me smile

my aunts, uncles, and cousins whom I'm so glad I've gotten close to again

for my friend Sarah, who is probably one of the sweetest women I've ever known

my friend Ashely, who gives me new addictions (Vampire Diaries) and is always there for me 

for my oldest friend, Kim, who has been my friend through the crappiest and best of times

my Riverside family, who not only gave me a job last year, but made me feel like i was home

the girlfriends at Riverside who I still consider to be some of my dearest friends and are there for me

my previous attorney bosses, who have always believed in me and gave me an undeserving job

 a roof over my head

my former church family that supported me

 my former youth kids, whom I love more than they know and who taught me so much

Steven's friends who have always welcomed me into their group

 my sweet car that may be getting older, but at least still takes me from point a to b

 my blogger friends, whom I'm so grateful to know

 my teaching job

having today off

my college education

all of my roommates, past and present that I've been fortune to find

the new friends I've made from school, who have made me feel so much more at ease

coffee

girls nights, that keep me sane

my guy friends who have taught me oh so much

 all of my new and old friends, that always remind me of who I am

my Pensacola family, who is the most loving group of people I've known

my Ft. Lauderdale family who stuck by my side through the worst of times

my Alabama family, who love me and my mom no matter what

my 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade teachers that made me want to choose this path

the study abroad trip that gave me wonderful experiences and amazing friendships

 the country I live in, despite all it's faults

the women and men who have died to make this country what it is

living in Florida- a gorgeous state

my first class, who still love me and write me notes

my current students who can be so sweet and caring

parents that care about their kids, my students and work with me to help them

coworkers that go out of their way for me

blogging, which always keeps me inspired

my pup, Aubre who always is so excited to see me

my past pups, Buttons and Coco who made me fall in love with dogs

that there are people out there that try to help each other, just because they want to

for my oh-so wonderful soft bed

my dad's love of history that somehow got passed onto me

the Bible, that continuously reminds me of God's love for me

the sunshine, that brightens up my day

a working ac

and a working heater

money in my account (even if it's not much)

helpful staff at the hospital that have been trying to help

doctors that are helpful and try to solve medical mysteries

comedies that make me laugh and cheer me up

pictures that help keep memories alive

my own classroom

my friend Joe, who has helped me tremendously in teaching

the upcoming Thanksgiving break that I have off from school and can visit family

books

technology

Starbucks, even if it is overpriced

shopping trips with girl friends

dresses

contacts

glasses

food

wine

gps that helps me always know where I'm going

cupcakes

the opportunities to travel

air fresheners that help my classroom not smell like complete crap

target and it's dollar section

fro yo samples

hair straighteners

makeup

forgiveness

love

the past 

the present

and the future

-kellie

baby shark photography

This past weekend my friend Jen and I headed to the beach. Her son, Keagan was a baby shark for Halloween and so we just had to take photos of the baby shark on the beach.
The whole thing made me re-realize two things: 1- this kid is sooo stinking adorable. 2- i absolutely love photography. I often am hard on myself and my work, but even though I'm not my biggest fan, I do love doing it anyway.
I also have an amazing friend that without even asking me, gave my number to a wedding photographer. I love her for that. That's how much she believes in me (and knows that I would never have the guts to do it myself).
-kel

to blog or not to blog, that is the question

Lately I've been wondering about this whole blogging thing. It's not that I don't enjoy it, it's just that I I have so many questions about it as of late.
What do I have to share?
 Can I share anything even of value or interest?
Who am I blogging for anyway?

I started this blog oh so many years ago for me. I wanted a place where I could share my life and memories so I could look back on it. I also wanted a way to stay in contact with friends who lived far away. I wanted to be able to still share my life with them (and vice versa)  since we didn't see each other as much anymore. Then came this whole blog take over, where I stumbled upon so many wonderful blogs. I honestly became obsessed with blogging. I felt so inspired by so many wonderful bloggers and I would spend entirely too much time in blog land.

Then something changed.

Somehow my blog became more about who else read it and how many other someones read it. It wasn't about me anymore, it was about what I could give to my readers.

Then for whatever reason, I feel like my readers began to disappear. Comments weren't being left and I stopped blogging because frankly, I just didn't have anything interesting to say. I contemplated stopping blogging or even starting fresh, starting over. But if I did start over, what would I do with the new place? What would it be about?

I wonder if this is a common thing for bloggers to face and feel. Maybe I'm not the only one that sees bloggers with thousands of readers who are just dying to leave a comment and be a part of that amazing blog.
But I don't like it on me. I don't want to compare myself. And even more, if I have a hard time hanging out here on my blog lately, why would anyone else? And didn't I start the whole blogging thing for me and no one else? What happened to that blogger?
So here I am....stuck in the abbess of what do I do from here?
To blog or not to blog, that is the question........

-kel