"i had a vacation.?.?.?."

......this is what I have been thinking in the back of mind for the last two weeks. A friend and I went away to Charleston, SC and the beach for a little r&r for a few days. It was a wonderful time....we camped beneath the stars, ate lots of smores, layed out on the beach, enjoyed the southern charm of Charleston and my taste buds were greatly entertained with a variety of crab! But, today, as I calculated my hours for this past month on my time sheet, I was thinking "when did I take vacation?".....work has been nuts!!! Melissa warned me that after she took her camping trip last fall that it was the calm before the storm...oh, how true that has been for me. If you think about it, you can pray that I will learn to delegate, not be a perfectionist, and truly have God's wisdom for what He desires for me to do each day. For now, I will reflect on the blessing of the time away and pray that I will lean on Him to get me through until the next little break at Thanksgiving.

A few pics from the trip...see the rest here.

the coolest

it's official, Laura Stiller, is the coolest blog reader. not only did she read and respond to my ridiculous questions and knew the quote from my favorite game show, but she herself, has a super-cool blog! check it out sometime, she's a great writer!!! love ya, girl!

"and the survey says...."

you get extra cool points if you know where that quote came from!

I'm taking a poll....

Would you rather....

Hillary or Obama?

Beach or Mountains?

Go without a shower for 3 days or go without food for 3 days?

let me know what you think!

the adventures of summer...

Like I said before, there's a lot to catch up on....so here's a few highlights....

the summer was busy and full of adventure....

Took Leslie, my roomie, to her first rodeo...that was fun....I do LOVE a good rodeo!

then began the rennovation of Boys to Men new facility "the Refuge"....this was such an incredible week....to see the body of Christ come together and work so hard for kids and families they don't know and may never know! God has done some amazing things in the provision of this building....so much time, money, and stuff has been donated....it's been incredible!! There will be more on this later.

We spent several weeks with kids at various camps.....KAA, U KNOW!

Then, it was off to Texas for a visit with friends and family and a dear friend's, julie weber's, wedding.

a beautiful Texas sunset....a treasure....it's flat, no mountains!

Off to Atlanta for my birthday treat from my sweet roomie, Leslie. An Astro's game....that went into way too many extra innings, and the 'Stros came out on top, some great shopping and an overnight stay in the shadiest motel I've ever stayed in....what an adventure!

My family made the LONG drive from Texas to visit east tennessee for a week. It was such a blessing to have them here. I really enjoyed spending time with them in what is now my "home" and having them see what I do and where I work meant a lot to me.

Then it was time to move to our new facility. That has been a process...but a great one! It has been such a blessing to have our own facility for our students and an office and desk to work at!!

We are getting more and more settled each day and I'm adjusting to a different work schedule and am learning a lot about appropriate boundaries!

I'll leave you with that for now.

you can check out other pics from the summer at Kelly's Shots.

....and the blog goes on!

I shall get back on track with the blogging world....I must admit that I am kind of excited about getting back with it. I am bit surprised that anyone still looks at this due to my long absence from posting anything. I am thankful that you guys still care enough to look into my little part of the world....thanks for that! There is so much to share, I don't know where to begin. I shall think on this and post some fun news from the summer a little later this evening...bye for now.

Question???

OK, so I have obviously had a long absence from the blog. Does anyone still read this or want to read this?? This is the question I need you to answer. I like blogging and sharing about what God is doing in the part of the world He's placed me in....but it takes time. So, if people read it and can hear of what God's doing, I'll get back with it....if not, it's going bye-bye. So, let me know :)

THANK YOU

A special thanks to the men, women and families who are serving in our nation's military! Your sacrifice and faithfulness bless me daily.....I sometimes lose sight of this and take it all for granted, but today, I will say THANK YOU!!!!

"Softly Call the Muster...."

"....let comrade answere 'Here'. Their spirits hover 'round us, as if to bring us cheer."

A few weekends ago, on April 21st, I headed down to Colombia, SC to visit Laura & Danny and joined with them and about 20 other Aggies at Aggie Muster. This was my first Muster away from campus, so it was different, but truly encouraging and a great reminder of the "school we hold so dear". We met a gentleman, Mr. Robert Wells '40, who was a Marine fighter pilot in WWII and a remarkable man. He's in the picture with Danny, Laura and I....I think I may have a new penpal :) He shared the stories of his life with us and I was reminded of so the many ways that God has blessed my life through my Aggie Family! It was a truly delightful weekend! Lots of fun with Laura & Danny....sleeping, shopping, running, great conversation, eating and even a little bull riding.
Laura and I at the carnival.....anxiously awaiting Danny's ride...... Danny's proud moment....ahh, the fun!

"blame it on mexico, if you need a reason...."

yes, it's true, i took a little trip down to Mexico over Spring Break with a few of our kiddos from Boys to Men. We met up with the crew from Texas and had a truly blessed week! Many lives were changed during our time there. You can check out pics here.

change....

Yes, this theme of change continues in my life as I near a year of life in East Tennessee.....most recently I have acquired a Tennesse Driver's License, of which I have no clue what the number is (more on that later) and a Tennessee License Plate.....I have officially been stripped of any documentation that would declare me a Texan. Sad, I know, but true :)

Just a silly observation, but shouldn't all license plates sport the red, white, and blue....another clear display of the patriotism of Texans!

So, I had a little trauma with this whole get a new driver's license and license plate episode, and yes, it was an episode....a total of 2 trips to the DMV and 3 trips to the county clerk. So, I go to get my new driver's license and asked if I could keep my Texas one for keepsake and I got a look from the sweet man behind the counter that drilled me into the wall behind me and so then I ask if there was any way I could keep the same DL number, since I've known that number for 11 years and got another look that made feel as though I should move back to Texas. After which the sweet man informed me that Texas had one less number than TN so that wouldn't work and then I suggested just adding a zero on either end and well, lets just say that the next look I received quickly shut my mouth. So I wrote the sweet man a check and left with a new license and new number which I shall never learn because there is no more space in my brain for new numbers! Silly, I know, but sometimes it's the little things that get to you. Just another clarification that "Kelly, you're not in Texas any more!"

time is precious.....

Yikes! Where has the time gone!?! Clearly, my time has gone to any and everything but the blog :) Life is busy right now, but alas, I shall take a few moments to let the outer world know what's going on.....

could it be???

Hullabaloo Canek, Canek

Yes, it's true, I heard that sweet sound for the first time in Tennessee today! Music to my hears. I was sitting in the office, all by myself (which was fantastic becuase it was quiet and I was getting SO much work accomplished), when I hear from the busy street in front of the office, a friendly car pass by, honking their horn with that beautiful melody.....if you're an Aggie, you know what I'm talking about....if not, you're thinking I'm crazy right now! I heard it and thought "could it be, no i must be crazy, but i thought again, no, it was hullabaloo, no doubt!" My theory is that there is a fellow Aggie somewhere in this east tn town and they saw my little car from texas parked in the street and decided to let me know I'm not alone. or maybe it was mere happenstance, but I think my theory is much better and it brought a little joy to my heart! Thank you, Lord, for Aggies :)

homesick

Texas

by George Straight

There wouldn’t be no Alamo

No Cowboys in the Super Bowl

No Lonesome Dove, no yellow rose

If it wasn’t for Texas

I wouldn’t be a Willie fan

Nobody’d swim the Rio Grande

I wouldn’t be an American

If it wasn’t for Texas

Fort Worth would never cross my mind

There’d be no Austin city limit sign

No lone star of any kind

If it wasn’t for Texas

I’d never gone to Tennessee

To sing my songs and chase my dreams

Only heaven knows just where I’d be

If it wasn’t for Texas

It made me the man I am

Thank God for my old stompin’ ground

I wouldn’t be standin’ right here right now

If it wasn’t for Texas

If it wasn’t for Texas

If it wasn’t for Texas

My heart's a little homesick right now.....homesick for Texas.....this song about sums up how I feel. I miss my family, my Texas friends, Aggie Baseball, Aggies, bluebonnets, hot weather, flat land and a big sky, Texas Bar-B-Q, Dublin Dr. Pepper, BLUE BELL, Texas thunderstorms, pastures full of cattle, tractors plowing the fields, being within driving distance of so many memories and fantastic cities.....no doubt I am blessed and in His will, my heart's just weary and missing the familiar and the comfortable....what's normal to me :)

tagged....again

i was tagged by whitney(not so sure about the wisdom part, whit), so here ya go.....

Here are the rules to the game...
1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, go down to the fourth sentence
3. Post the text of the following three sentences
.4. Name the author and book title.
5. Tag three other people to do the same

First off, let me say, that I am reading this book for work....part of my job is teaching Abstinence classes in public schools....aka....encouraging teens to save sex until marriage.

"Few of the people encouraging young women to establish their careers before getting married consider that this strategy can lead to many years of unrequited sexual desire or to heartbreaking sexual relationships. The advice also takes no account of the best time for a young woman to find a desireable husband and start a family. Men care about looks, and they think women never look better than they do in thier early twenties."

Taking Sex Differences Seriously by Steven E. Rhoads

this is actually a very insightful book for the work we do and the battle that is raging in our nation for the sanctity and life of marriage!

I tag......drumroll, please......

Melissa Neal (who has rather fanciful insights on life and all that she reads)

Laura Stiller (who always seems to be reading a good book)

Curtis (let's see if we can get him to return to blogger-land)

who wouldn't love a gorilla for valentine's???

Yes, I work with this guy, Sam, not the gorilla....he can be quite the jokester. So, some of the other brilliant staff at BTM decided to have a little fun of our own on heart day and blessed Sam with a dancing gorilla.....oh, how great was the laughter! I've decided this is a great way to show friends how much you love them....so, beware, you may be next!

we need a man around here....

A tale-tale sign that you need a man around your house.....So, Leslie and I encountered a problem recently....we couldn't get the lid off the Pepsi bottle because a male friend, who is to remain annonymous, put the lid on so tight that we couldn't get the stinkin' thing off! So, Leslie, in all her brillaince and resourcefulness, decides to just cut a whole in the side of the bottle and pour it out that way. Hey, it worked. I must admit that I was thinking of which guy we could call to come over and open the bottle for us....I'm so glad I have such a resourceful roomie:)

catch up....

well, folks....i feel as though i've been playing catch up for quite some time. life is busy and this blog thing just really hasn't been something i've thought much about. it seems i've let a lot slip by without sharing stories or pics....so here goes a slight attempt at catching up! i've put pics in shutterfly to catch up on all the craziness around Christmas....check 'em out if you like!

some of the beautiful ladies from Girlfriends

WINGS N' MORE!!!!!

Yes, I quite enjoyed my fill of good food in Texas during my trip back home!!!!

I had a SWEET visit with Jared and Curtis....I just love these two boys!!!

Got to enjoy some Aggie football with Mo, Ash and Matthew....it was great fun to see a game with other Ags!!

I sure enjoyed hanging out with whit, mackey and mr. paxton.....you're getting so big! I am so blessed with treasured friends!

giving depot

The Giving Depot....

Grace Fellowship(GFC) does this amazing outreach for the students and families of Boys to Men and Girlfriends. The short of it is that our students earned points for 6 weeks based on behavior, character, grades, respect, etc. Then, they get to go to the Giving Depot and shop for their families for Christmas using the points they earned. GFC provides all the gifts, food, entertainment, etc....everything for this amazing event....the students, families and staff of Boys to Men were so blessed by this event.....

these are a couple of pics of the Giving Depot we did separately for our group of students in Mountain City. It was a truly amazing day and so sweet to have fellow brothers and sisters in Christ supporting the ministry that the Lord has established. I'm not sure my words are giving justice or really even half-way explaining all that was done...but, hopefully you get the gist.

all the volunteers who helped out in Mountain City....THANKS!!!

Ms. Paula, Joe and I with the kiddos from Mtn. City.

return to blogger land

so it seems that i left blogger land for a good while. life got busy and then i just really didn't think about it....so, i have returned, with much to post and share.....here goes the first of many to catch up.....

tagged

okay, so i've been tagged by Laura Stiller in some sort of blogger maddness from Living Hope in College Station, Tx. so here goes the game....

Five Things You May Not Know About Me.....

1. I have never in my life responded to something like this....I always hit the delete button or just ignore these types of things. But, what the heck, it never hurts to try something new.

2. I have a somewhat serious addiction to chapstick. My favorite is Natural Ice. I think I probably have somewhere in neighborhood of 10 things of chapstick in my possession. Today has been rough day on the lips, because I can't manage to find any of them. I have this terrible habit of putting them in the pocket of my jeans or hoodie and then I find them in the wash or the next time I wear that hoodie or jacket....it's time to go dig in the closet, because my lips are on fire as we speak.

3. My ideal job would be a stay at home mom....of probably 5 kids....most of which have been adopted and have different skin colors. I definitely want the house that is filled with all the neighborhood kiddos....a safe and fun place for them to hang out and be loved on.

4. I have a goal of never throwing up again for the rest of my life. I have a serious fear of throwing up. I haven't thrown up since the 6th grade, when I lost my hot dog on the White House lawn. I figure why bother throwing up if you can't leave your mark in a really important public place. I also haven't eaten a hot dog since that day.

5. I have never been able to master the art of skating.....ice, roller, skateboard...notta. I think I have some kind of a short in my brain where I totally loose all ability to stay upright when I have some form of wheels or blades attached to my feet. I'm thinking maybe I should try out those cool shoes that have wheels that pop out of the sole....I mean one minute you're walking and the next you're wheelin' all over the place.

So, I've told you 5 things about me....now I get to tag 5 other bloggers....I tag Melissa, Whitney, Jared (blog, already!), Ryan&Sarah, and Curtis .