6 - Wish

Yes, I've FINALLY joined the 'married' club...and trust me when you get into your 30s and most of the girls you grew up with in high school and college are married with multiple kiddos...it becomes a 'club' that you feel you may never join! I know with 100% certainty that this is NOT the case and it's okay to be 30+ and single but some days it feels like you are alone and nobody has ever been 30 and single and there are NO 'good' guys left for you. Again, false. 

It's tough for me to see some of my single girl friends in this same predicament now. We were all single together and it was nice to have each other to lean on. Although, I am now married, I know and they know that nothing has changed with our friendship...yet, deep down I know that it has. I'm one of 'them'. It's hard for me to say "Hang in there", "It's time to move on, he's lame and you deserve so much better" or "The Perfect Guy is out there waiting for you, you just have to be patient". All of those statements are absolutely the truth and all of my single girls do deserve the best...but, it wasn't very long ago that I was there with those same unconfident thoughts and crushed dreams that one more guy didn't work out. 

My wish is that these girls hold their head high. Whether they are 25 or 45, each one of us are a gift from God, created special and are in the stage of life exactly where He wants us to be. There is an amazing guy out there for each of us and God will help the two individuals to cross paths at some point...and when it happens, everyone of us will be so thankful that we waited on Him. God has perfect timing and He always provides exactly what we need when we need it. 

My wish is for my beautiful, amazing, smart, talented, loyal, hard-working, single girl friends to continue to have faith, be patient and know their worth.

5 - Present

My mom loves Christmas...she loves to buy everyone tons of presents! And this year she was determined to buy Brandon and I our first Christmas present as a married couple! She gave us this very pretty ornament with 'Our First Christmas' inscribed on the front. It's sort of like a locket and it opens up with one side inscribed 'Brandon & Kellie 12/25/2012' and the other side open for a picture. We'll have to take our picture on Christmas morning together this year for this perfect little present. Thank you mom!

4 - Shopping

I love to shop. I shop cheaply so that I can shop a lot. I haven't been in the mood to shop much lately...for one, I'm trying to get myself on a budget and two, it's not as much fun to buy clothes when NOTHING fits. I digress. The few times I've gone out the past few weeks, the stores have been crazy busy with people everywhere. It's just that time of year. Well, let's take those crazy packed stores and add in 4 small kiddos. Who doesn't think that sounds like a Friday night to be jealous of!? Be Jealous. Be Very Jealous. 

Brandon and I spent last Friday night with the 4 Lyle boys...at Walmart. We were on our honeymoon and missed their bday party this year so we had to make up for that! And honestly it's become our tradition...I take the boys shopping to pick out their gift and Jeff and Lis get a date night (not sure who benefits more by this, a freebie date night for them or pure laziness on my part to not have to pick out a gift). We started this tradition when there were only 2...who would have thought I'd be keeping this tradition going with FOUR. Ha!! I kid, I kid. It's my choice and I absolutely LOVE my time with these sweet boys. Lisa warned me and asked me not to take on all 4...but I wanted to! They are so good and we have so much fun...and besides that, I'm married now which means I have 2 more hands to help! 

On a side note, picture this. On our way in, we find a little purse with money in it. So, Brandon takes it to customer service while I take the kids and start walking towards the toy aisles. Well, right now my knee/leg is completely jacked up and I struggle to walk at times (long story...and yes, I'm working on getting it fixed). I'm carrying Blake in my arms, pushing the cart with the carrier and Nathan in it, while the two older boys are walking in front of the cart. So, I'm limping, carrying a kid, pushing a cart with another kid and telling two more kids in front of me to slow down and wait for me. It seriously felt like I was one of the 'People of Walmart'. I had several older ladies pass me with THAT look...part feeling sorry for me and part wanting to tell me about birth control. Anyway, needless to say, I just smiled at them and chuckled to myself. 

We got our toys, we bought some cookies for dessert and after the little ones went to bed Hayden, Davis, Brandon and I watched one of Brandon's fav movies...Elf! We had so much fun with them and as always they were so well behaved. Lisa and Jeff have done an amazing job teaching those boys good manners! We will take them to the store any time!!

 Yummy Pizza for dinner and Christmas tree cookies for dessert!

Watching the movie...and sneaking another cookie!

And of course don't forget Angel, if there's a dog around, Brandon will be playing with it! 

3 - Angel

I've posted several blogs about my Granny and her passing this year. It will be a tough year without her here with us for the first time at Christmas. Mica sent me this little letter the other day and it couldn't be more perfect for my family and I as we deal with the loss of our beloved grandmother. She will always be our Angel in Heaven watching over us and although she may not be with us in person...she will always be with us in spirit. 

As hard as it is to not have her here with us...the thought and the 'picture' that this little story gives me is amazing. It makes me happy to think that she is spending Christmas with Jesus this year.

2 - Lights

So, I had completely talked myself out of doing Christmas decorations this year...including no tree! Which is just crazy for me! I justified this by the thinking that I 'deserved' the break after all the recent wedding planning...I'm tired and honestly just not in the Christmas mood...yet. I even considered just getting a small tree for the center of the table or something so I wouldn't feel completely 'scrooge-y'. I know it's our first married Christmas and all but we won't be home for Christmas...and nobody was really going to see it except us. AND next year would be bigger and better in our NEW HOUSE (once we ever find time to actually start really looking for one). So, those were my excuses. 

Until....I get a call from Brandon on Friday afternoon suggesting we have a dinner party for his sales team and their spouses. Ugh. There goes my brilliant idea. Don't get me wrong, I love to entertain...and I love that he wants to entertain them all here. But that means I have to decorate. So, here we go. After putting it off all weekend, we finally make ourselves get it all down from the attic...getting started is the hardest part. 

Tree is up...Lights are on! Now...how much more effort do I have to give....hmmmmm...

Oh...Holy Ornaments!!

Go big or Go home...and there's Brandon putting up the very last ornament. Thanks for all that help babe!! :)

Done! Pretty Christmas Lights!

1 - Par-TAY!!

Wow, it's December! How did that happen?? The beginning of December typically means lots'o'Christmas parties!! Our first one was last night, to ring in the holidays! Mark and Jenna have an annual Christmas party and as always, there was a huge turnout! Everyone comes for a Big Daddy celebration. It's always fun and always a great time to catch up with everyone...and for some, it's the one time a year that I see them. Although I was lame and didn't take any pics at the actual party, here's our one take away from the night...our white elephant gift exchange gift. Somebody opened this and Brandon and I were both like, that's OURS!! 

STOLEN.

Our favorite type of wine...Malbec...bonus that it's from Mendoza, Argentina. Score! And of course, who doesn't want a Justin Bieber CD to go with it?! Gift for Megan! Double Score!

December B-A-D

Here.We.Go. Let's see if I can keep my 'commitment' this month...December Blog-A-Day. Done a little differently. It stresses me out some days to have to write a blog about pre-set daily word. Some days, no problemo...other days, the stress of competing with the most creative people I know, gets to me!

So I suggested we take a hybrid approach...21 days of set words, in any order with 10 'freebie' days to use as we please. Let's do this!

Thankful: Facebook

I am thankful for Facebook. I realize that some people take it to the extreme and tell us every single detail of their entire lives…some like to rehash drama and battle each other in public…some like to sell the next ‘pyramid scheme’ and try rope us all in (and sometimes that’s just fun to make fun of)....and some people just friend me for no apparent reason at all.

But I am thankful for Facebook because I enjoy keeping up with those people that we don’t get to see regularly. I feel like there are so many old friends, teachers and family members that I really do love to hear about their lives or see pictures of their kiddos as they grow up. I am thankful for the opportunity that Facebook gives me to do that.

Thankful: Airplanes

I am thankful for airplanes. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to travel to as many cool places and experienced as many different vacations as I have. I have been to multiple countries and many states across the US. There’s no way I could have traveled as far or over as much water in the amount of allotted vacation time that I’m given from work. I’ve been blessed financially to be able to afford these trips and I wouldn’t trade any of my experiences for anything. That’s what life is all about…and I have plenty of pics and memories to make me smile forever. I am thankful for the opportunity to travel on airplanes.

The beautiful Dallas sunrise as we flew out for Thanksgiving to Indiana...

And the crazy fog that we flew in to land in Chicago...

I love to fly...and I am thankful for airplanes!!

Thankful: Wedding

I am thankful for my amazing wedding. The whole process from engagement to wedding day was only about 4 months. As we were looking at venues and availability and the suggestion of October came up…I was appalled at the idea. There was NO way I could pull that off. Well ‘I’ did not…but with the help of Mica and Lisa and all the time they spent researching venues, photographers, DJ’s, bakeries, menus, dress shops, etc. They were both like “We got this!” And…we did. With the help of them, my mom, Kathy and Bama we got all the decorations, flowers, plans and everything done in perfect timing. The showers, bachelorette party, craft night, girls days…everything came together perfectly and the entire day was the most stress-free and relaxed I may have ever been. It was picture-perfect and our wedding party was beautiful!! I am thankful for the perfect memory of that entire day.

Thankful: Perfect Timing

I am thankful for Perfect Timing. God has perfect timing. We all know this. But sometimes, it’s not always easy to remember. I have had too many moments of impatience throughout my years and it’s a continuous battle when things don’t work out according to ‘my plan’. But I am thankful that as God always reminds me, it’s not about my plan and what I want when I want it. I will always eventually get what I need…and what I want…although I may not know it at the time. I am thankful for that constant reminder as I see exactly how my life turns out as time moves forward…and fortunately, I couldn’t write this chapter of my life any better!

I am thankful for this perfectly timed chapter....

Thankful: Pedicures with Friends

I am thankful for pedicures with friends. It’s funny to me how I used to despise people touching my feet…well I still do…except for that fabulous 30 min to an hour that I get to enjoy an occasional pedicure. I didn’t realize the greatness of this until about 6 years ago…I never had one until several years after I moved to Dallas and decided to try it once. And I fell in love! I love that time to relax and have my legs rubbed…and fortunate that the actual ‘feet’ part is only a few minutes of the process! Plus, the precious time spent catching up with my girlfriends is bonus! I am thankful for pretty toes!

Thankful: New Car Smell

I am thankful for a new car smell. Brandon and I recently decided to trade in my Tahoe and get something more fuel efficient, cheaper and smaller. Although we didn’t get as low as we planned on any measure…we did get better on the scale of each. Our new black Cadillac SRX is fully loaded and beautiful and I love it…and I love my husband for ‘buying me a new car’! Every time I get into it, I cherish that awesome new car smell that I know will be gone in a matter of time. But I am thankful for it right now.

Thankful: Memories

I am thankful for all of the memories that I have. My life has been completely fulfilled by friends and family and activities and fun...all that make up these fabulous memories. Some of my favorite memories are of my childhood. I was a spoiled child with more blessings and opportunities than I ever knew to appreciate. I appreciate them more than ever now, as I continue to grow. Memories of my Granny and Papa are prevalent in my daily life. There are so many things that I can think of through experiences with both of them that help make me who I am today. I miss them dearly and absolute cherish the memories with both of them. 

I am so thankful for grandparents that I had so much time with...from feeding the baby calves to graduating high school. They were both there with so much love in their hearts for me for as long as I can remember.

Thankful: Friendships

I am thankful for Friendships. Both old and new. As I recently planned and prepared for one of the biggest moments of my life…my wedding…I realized the true value of friendships. I have girls that I’ve been friends with since 1^st grade…some I met in college…and others I’ve only met the past few years in Dallas…but they are all so important to me. As everyone reached out and offered their help, offered advice or were just there as a sounding board when things got stressful…I realized the real meaning of friendship. I am blessed and I can’t imagine life without all of these girls in mine. It was surreal to see all of the people in our lives at the wedding in one room…and all of the years of memories that every single person there brings with them. The friendships that I’ve maintained through the years, each have their own different past and present ‘story’…but all of them are equally important to my future! I am thankful for my friends.