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!!!

day 4: hope

Maybe you're wondering why I'm posting a picture of the month of June.  Well, some of you may already know but I'd like to announce that JOHN GOT A JOB!!!  Yay!!  I'm so incredibly proud of him!!  It's a great job and we'll be moving to the DC area sometime in the May-June time frame.  As a lot of you may know, Pittsburgh has not been my most favorite place to live nor has this been the easiest/best part of our lives together.  Granted, we have spent our first married years here, I've learned a lot and met some great friends but I am very hopeful to see what life will throw at us come June.

congratulations, Pam!

It's taken me a few months to post about this (and for that I am really sorry) but my sweet friend from college, Pamela, is engaged!!  Her fiance John asked her in the fall and they are getting married this May in NYC!!  I'm so happy for them and I'm really looking forward to their big day!! Congratulations!!!!

(I borrowed the picture from her Facebook account, {thanks Pam!} and had to enlarge it a bit, sorry it's blurry.  Isn't that a beautiful ring?!)

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!

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

while we're talking about katie...

I thought I should break the great news that she adopted this little guy on Saturday:

Chuck Taylor Bass Lail

Here's a close up:

I'm so happy for her and Chuck!  Couldn't you just hug this little pooch?!  I can't wait to meet him!

thankful 19

19. Today I'm thankful for John.  I love this man.  He's really great and pretty handsome too :)  Happy birthday to my awesome husband!  Seriously, have we celebrated 6 of his birthdays together?  Yes, we have.  Where does the time go?

(he did not willingly pose for this photo)

congratulations ginny and riley!

Monday morning my best friend got engaged! Riley popped the question as the sunrise was coming up in Beaufort, NC! I am so happy for the two of you and may God bless you with many, many years of happiness! Love ya'll!

(totally took this picture from Ginny's facebook profile pic, thanks!)

happy birthday momma!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my wonderful mom! What a beautiful, incredible woman! Thanks Mom for all that you've done and for the woman that you are. I love you so much and hope you have a fabulous day!

congrats anna and matthew!

Our sweet friends Anna and Matthew are now engaged! Yay! Let the wedding plans begin! We're so happy we were able to celebrate last night, thanks for coming out! And we look forward to experiencing this lovely time in your life together with you :) Congratulations!!!


he put a ring on it :)


you can't really tell in this picture but Matthew picked out a beautiful Celtic ring :) go irish!


happy bride to be :)


happy couple!


the group gathered together to celebrate Anna and Matthew and to bid Phil farewell


Caitlin, me and bride to be


Phil and I, BFFs...please don't move!


one last picture with the newly engaged lady!

thankful 19

19. I am so thankful for the birth of my husband twenty some (not sure if he wants his age revealed) years ago as of yesterday! I know, you're probably thinking, "well you were already thankful for your husband". Well I think I want to be thankful again, because he's just that awesome. I love this man so incredibly much!! He ended up having a great birthday and really enjoyed time with friends, his cards and gifts from loved ones! He was feeling sick at the end of the night and sadly couldn't eat his lovely birthday cake. But we celebrated again this morning and each had a piece. I highly recommend that recipe if you're interested in making a lemon chiffon cake. So to end on a strong note: I love John, he's a wonderful man and I want to thank everyone who has played a part in his life, you helped make him the man that he is today!

thankful 11

11. My precious niece, Paige Michelle! Sweet Paige was born this morning and weighed in at 7 lbs. 11 oz and is 20 inches long! Mom and Baby are doing great! I cannot wait to see this sweet little baby (and the rest of her family) in just a couple of weeks! Congratulations Heather, Patrick, Anna and the rest of the Kelly clan!! (I will post pics as I receive them)

Also, not to be overlooked today, I'm thankful for our country's veterans! Seriously, they're awesome! Thank you to all of the wonderfully brave and courageous men and women who fight for our country! And many thanks to all of their spouses and families as well! I am forever grateful for what you do daily for us!

thankful #6

6. Today I am thankful for babies! My sweet friend Crystal gave birth to her baby boy Mason Scott last night! Welcome to the world precious one! Congratulations Crystal and Scott! I cannot wait to see Crystal and Mason at Christmas and hold this sweet baby! I think babies are one of God's most incredible creations and how can they not make you smile? Yay Mason!

pics from anniversary

Sorry they're a little blurry, darn those tourists who can't take pictures!

high cotton

I thought that was fitting since this is the cotton anniversary. We had a great time celebrating two years together. John had a softball game on our actual anniversary so after that we had a small dinner outside (thanks Mom and Dad for the table and chairs!) and exchanged gifts. I appreciate all of the helpful suggestions for gift ideas; I ended up replenishing his undergarment collection (he was beginning to run low) and he bought me an Isotonic Memory Foam Temperature Sensitive pillow (long name, but awesome pillow)

Last night we celebrated by eating at Monterey Bay Fish Grotto, a fabulous restaurant on Mt. Washington. The food was incredible as well as the view. Of course, my researcher of a husband timed it perfectly so that we could see the city in the sunlight, watch the sunset and see it at nighttime all the while enjoying a yummy dinner. Here's to two years!

plus que ma propre vie

Today marks 2 years that I've been married to the man I love. Yay!