our next big adventure

Introducing our next big adventure...Baby Kelly is due in April 2014!  We could not be more excited!

I've had two doctor's appointments and that baby's heart is beating strong and fast!  That is truly one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard, the heartbeat.  The pregnancy has been going well, I had some morning sickness and extreme fatigue during the first trimester but those symptoms are starting to fade.  I PROMISE to give y'all updates on the baby and baby bump pictures (once my belly starts growing).  Please join us and pray for this sweet baby as it continues to grow and develop, thank you!

dr. kelly

I am thrilled to announce that  John has completed his PhD!!!!  That's right, I'm now married to a doctor :)  I am so incredibly proud of him! 

This actually happened a week ago and life has just now slowed down enough for me to sit and write about it (sorry for the delay, but if we're friends on Facebook then you learned about Dr. Kelly soon after I found out). 

It's crazy to look back and fully grasp that he's finished.  That our time here is done (well, in about a month).  That all of those ridiculously long hours, sleepless nights, time with each other sacrificed, homework, teaching classes, projects, papers, endless hours of research have all paid off.  I don't think I've even been able to slow down enough to process it all.  But what I can say is that I'm ridiculously proud of him and what he's accomplished.  I cannot imagine being that dedicated to something in the academic world.  To push through all of those years of work and study is truly an accomplishment.  But somehow "accomplishment" doesn't even do all of that effort justice.  It's more like "huge honor, award, superstar, way to go you're amazing and dedicated and really awesome!!".  Clearly we see who the more academic one in this marriage is :)  My excitement translates into smiles, bear hugs and shouting my pride from the rooftops.  So I think I'm going to keep doing that until I feel I've sufficiently shown him how proud and happy I am.  And probably embarrass him in the process but who cares because my husband is now a doctor!!!

langhorne slim & the law

I told y'all I'd give you a little more info about the band I mentioned a few posts ago (Langhorne Slim & the Law).  I am so glad that I went to the show because I knew I would like it but I ended up LOVING it!  The band has such great energy and the music was incredible!  There was a good variety amongst the songs, none of them sounded too similar.  I was able to talk to the lead singer afterwards and he just seemed so nice and down to earth.  And of course, my friend Billy is their touring manager which is amazing and makes me like them even more.  If you're looking for some new music I suggest you buy their CD or download their album, you'll be happy you did.  Here's some of my favorite songs...

This song has kind of a hippie feel to it, which I love, I want to like walk around in fields of wildflowers while listening to it :)



Thing song reminds me of what a present day Elvis might sound like (of course I love that):



And then I loved this one because I just thought it was haunting and beautiful:

update

Hello, faithful blog readers!  Sorry I haven't been posting but we have been busy, busy, busy!!  Like crazy busy getting this house ready to be put on the market.  And I thought the house was halfway decent to begin with, ha.ha.ha.  There is a ton of stuff that you apparently have to do in order for it to be ready to "show" and God help us, hopefully someone will want to buy it.  Hopefully after tomorrow it will slow down a bit because oh my goodness, I'm not sure how much I can take anymore.  From the moment I got home Friday evening to the moment I went to bed Sunday night I was cleaning, doing yard work, packing and stowing away things.  John was doing the same.  Lord, I want my life back.  I haven't read or watched TV in ages!!  Ahh!  This too shall pass.

In the meantime, my old friend, Billy, (from the ol' high school days) tours with this amazing band that I had the pleasure of seeing on Thursday...here's one of their songs, you should definitely give it a listen!  I'll be posting more on them later.  My friend is the really tall one in the audience dancing to the left.  :)

a pep talk

I found this on my friend Martha's blog.  It is precious and simply inspiring.  Enjoy!

christmas party (lail style)

My family was sweet enough to throw a Christmas party while I was in town so that we could all mingle with some friends.  Everything was perfect!  The food, the decorations, the company...it couldn't have been better!  Thanks to Mom, Dad and Katie for all of the time, money and effort y'all put into creating that night, I loved every minute of it!  Here's some pics from the event...

college and high school friends (Paula, Morgan, Allison, me, Dina and Teresa)

they love John :)

the Kelly's, y'all

me and Sterling (Katie's bestie since elementary school)

Meghan (one of Katie's other besties), me, Katie and Sterling

all the way from Dallas y'all...Paula!!

my sweet Dina

me and Teresa, goofy as usual :)

Morgan and me 

my Allicat :)

 

Katie sandwich

Katie, me, Katy (one of my best friends growing up)

amen

found here

if ever there were a shirt that i needed...

it would be THIS ONE!

found here

I'm buying it in like 2 seconds!

(thanks to my cousin, Emily, for sharing)

the time my fam went to lynyrd skynyrd

For Father's Day we got my dad tickets to go see Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers.  It just so happened to work out that we were going to be in NC at the time so the whole family got tickets.  Unfortunately, John wasn't able to make the trip with me so he gave his ticket to Abby and although I'm sad he couldn't make it, I'm really happy she was able to come!  We did do a shout out for John during Simple Man (his favorite Skynyrd song).  Y'all, this concert was amazing!  The people tailgating were a show in and of themselves!  But really, the music was incredible.  I thought I was going to enjoy the Allman Bros more (mostly because of their jam band type music) but I actually had a blast during Lynyrd Skynyrd and mellowed out during Allman Bros (and maybe dozed off a little, not for lack of excitement but more for the lulling sounds of their jams and extreme exhaustion).  It was even more special because of the people I was with!  Let me tell you, my family is a fun concert crowd (as long as we all like the artists)!  I would do it all over again in a heartbeat!  Here's some pics :)

family tailgating

the spread, thanks Mom!

we. are. family!

we had to pose with a rebel flag, i mean it IS lynyrd skynyrd

kinda dark, but the whole group :)

me and the birthday boy (well, it was his birthday eve)

Mom and her girls

cousins!

sister sister

fam at the beginning of the concert

to Dad!!

At the end of the night.  We were pretty exhausted...and stinky.

ginny + riley (the video)

Remember the time I posted about Ginny's wedding here, here, here, and here?  This is probably one of the last things I'll post about Ginny's wedding but I wanted to share her wedding video highlights!  They hired an awesome videographer who basically followed us around like paparazzi all weekend (it was pretty amazing).  I feel like you really get to experience the wedding weekend when you see this sweet video.  And don't worry, that's yours truly speaking during the introduction.  My debut in the film industry :)  Enjoy!!

more ginny pictures!

So I know I haven't posted in awhile, I've been pretty sick/recovering and that's why.  BUT I came across a link of Ginny's wedding pictures and knew that I had to post them!! A sneak peek from her photographer (my old YoungLife leader!).  She is so beautiful and the pictures turned out great (maybe I teared up a little while looking at them)!  So with no further ado, here you go...Ginny and Riley's sneak peek wedding pics!

your daily quote

story of my life.

my best friend's wedding part 2

some of the girls in the limo at the beginning of Ginny's WEDDING DAY!

me and the beautiful bride!

Katie, Mom, me and beautiful bride :)

Ginny and her sweet little niece (and flower girl), Lillie

me and John (he fell asleep at the reception)

Mary and me

the Rouses and the Kellys

sweet Momma and the bride (her 3rd daughter)

Mom and Katie

the bride and me!!

me (apparently about to attack someone), Ginny and John :)

We had a fantastic time!! Yay for Ginny and Riley!! We love y'all to Reeses pieces!!!

the night before the wedding

me and John at the dance after the rehearsal dinner

Katie annoying John :)

sister sister

John, me, Katie and Andre

family

family again :)

me and Dad shagging (I think I'm counting out the steps to him :)

happy girls! (Blakeley, Ginny, me and Dina)

And of course, me owning the dance floor...clearly :)

my best friend's wedding

Soooo Ginny got married this past weekend!!!  And what a whirlwind, wonderful wedding it was!!  Seriously, hands down, one of the best weddings I've ever been to.  And it went by in the blink of an eye.  Let me just say the bride was STUNNING!  I was so proud to call her my best friend!  Well, I'm proud to call her that when she's in gym shorts and a t-shirt but y'all, she looked amazing!  And right now I know you're like, "well show us the dang pictures already!" and to that I have to say: our camera broke Friday night, I took pics with my parents' camera (that remains in Goldsboro but they promised to upload the pics and send them to me, cough cough) and I'm hoping her photographer/someone on facebook will put up some pics real soon.  I'll be able to upload the ones from our camera but that means I have to dig it out of our luggage first and well, I'm still pretty exhausted from the weekend.  They're coming, they're coming, I promise!  It really was a fantastic weekend filled with love, support, family, friends, food, alcohol and just plain old fun!  I was sad to see it end although I'm glad sweet Ginny has a break and can enjoy herself on her honeymoon with her new husband, Riley!  Here are a few pics from my mom's iPhone to hold you over:

John stealing a dance with the bride (super blurry, they were moving too fast!)

Ashley and I (bridesmaids) pausing as we scarfed down shrimp and grits

blurry one of Mom and Dad partying hard :)

Ashley, Eva (my old roommate) and me