My Love

Half of my heart will leave in the morning. I love you Rob, you are everything to me. Please know we will be praying for you always. Stay safe my love! Until we meet again, I love you more than you'll ever realize.

Christmas 2009

This Christmas will definitely be one to remember! I must say first and foremost that I am truly grateful to have a roof over my head, heat and power. We had a blizzard yesterday and are stuck indoors and it would be quite miserable without heat. I am also grateful we got to see Rob's sister and her boyfriend Mike. If only for a short time. They were driving from St. Louis, and left around 9am yesterday and due to the snow,sleet, freezing rain, ill prepared Oklahoma DOT and dumb drivers, they didn't make it here to the area until 11:30 last night, just to find out that the base was closed and not letting people on. So they found a hotel and stayed the night. Then early this morning they made it here so we could open gifts and eat breakfast. They decided to go ahead and head back, since they didn't know how long it would take to get back. We are so glad we were able to spend a little time with they , and pray they make it back safe and sound.
On a lighter note, Santa was very good to us this year, as was our family. We all got some great gifts!

White Christmas

We heard yesterday that we would be getting between 3-6 inches of snow, and of course we didn't actually believe it since we don't get snow here....we get an enormous amount of ice (normally in Jan) but we woke up this morning and it started snowing....and it kept coming! It is actually still snowing. We had plans to go to a friends house tonight and have a big Christmas Eve dinner, but we cannot get out of our driveway, let alone off base. So we are kind of excited to be cuddled up watching The Santa Clause 3, and I just started a batch of chili. Chili isn't usually on the Christmas Eve menu and its not what we had planned but, its quick and very warm. So we will have our big dinner tomorrow night. So as we were getting the kiddos out of the car and back inside, they played for a bit. mA short bit since the wind was VERY strong.

Trolley ride

We bundled up and went downtown (called Bricktown down here) and grabbed some dinner and decided to ride the trolley through downtown and see the lights. The kids loved it!!

Christmas Stockings

Robs parents came in this weekend to spend time with us all before Rob leaves. We all got to open one present while they were here since we won't all be together for Christmas. Savannah got an 18" doll named Sydney. Porter got a huge toy semi that stores small toy cars, and Rob's mom knitted us all Christmas stockings! They are just beautiful. We love them Cricket!

fun with a mullet

So we were at sister-in-law's family show and during the show they do introductions and they always mention how Briahna got married this past year and then make jokes about how Merrill is bald and the compare him to a stick of roll-on deodorant. Well, Merrill knew they were going to say this so he hid a mullet (is that how you spell it?) wig under his jacket and when they were talking about Merrill theu mentioned he was in the audience and had him stand and of course he slipped the mullet wig on!! Very funny.

Thanksgiving

I know I'm a little behind but we had a super fun Thanksgiving. We drove to Illinois to see Rob's family. The kids did really well in the 7 hour drive. We were anxious since Porter has had a hard time in the past on long car trips, but he did great! We also got to meet our new little niece, Caroline. She is so beautiful and has the prettiest blue eyes you'll ever see! Of course we had a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, Cricket is a great cook. The next night we drove out to "Our Lady of the Snows Shrine" and saw the Christmas lights display and the kids got to ride on camels. On Sunday we drove down to Branson to be with my family. We ate another Thanksgiving with my parents, my brother and Briahna, Briahna's family and our friends Adam and Gloria. It was once again delicious and we ate way too much! On Wednesday we saw Briahna in her family's show which is always a treat, they are so unbelievably talented. Then on Friday we saw Rob's favorite comedian Brian Regan in Springfield Mo. I bought Rob the tickets as an early Christmas gift, and we went with friends. I'm so glad we did it, it was exactly what we needed. We laughed SO hard, it was a really fun time.

Not a whole lot to report, but I am 16 days into my 23 day diet and I feel pretty dang good. I haven't lost a ton of weight but its only been 16 days, but I feel amazing. I have tons of energy and am feeling way more fit! I've been working out daily and since I'm only putting good things into my body, I feel good. So far I have lost 4 inches off my waist and 3 off my hips. Even if I hadnt lost a pound I'd be grateful that atleast now I have a great routine set up. James and Lauren are coming up this weekend which will be FUN. Me and Lauren are going to see a late showing of NEW MOON! Yes I'm one of those, judge me if you will. I'm very excited!

Giving Thanks

So I realized that it is November NOVEMBER! As in the month of Thanksgiving, and the month before Christmas. I can't grasp the fact that it is already November. I truly love the holidays. I really do. This year seems different though. A period of change I guess. Most years I cannot wait for the holidays to come. But this year i think subconsciously I think I wanted more time. Rob is leaving right after Christmas and it will be hard. Last night , as we were getting ready for bed, I realized I am so grateful for so many things in my life. So my husband has to leave for 4 months.....He has an amazing job, my children are happy and healthy, I seriously want for nothing right now. I can do 4 months. I've done separation before and I know everything will be fine. Everytime Rob leaves its like someone stronger within takes over. I was talking to my neighbor (who's husband is deployed) and was telling her how much I've been through each time Rob is gone, and each time I learn and grow so much. I form a stronger bond with my children. So in an effort to get into the Thanksgiving spirit, I wanted to share the fact that I am so unbelievably grateful for MY life, my choices, my trials, my testimony, my oppurtunities and my family. I know at any moment all of this could be taken away from me....so for now I am thankful.

Aunty Ollie $100 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Aunty Ollie $100 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Captain

Rob pinned on Captain today. He didn't have an official pinning-on ceremony (as he feels they are "lame"). So I will be throwing him a little brunch here at home with some friends. I'm so proud of him. He works so hard and is really good at what he does. I must say ...those 2 silver bars look VERY nice. I love you Robbie!!

Happy Halloween

On Thursday we went to Rob's work Halloween party. The kids got to trick-or-treat from room to room in his office. Then on Friday night we went to a chili cook-off and trunk-or-treat at church. It was a blast. We are looking forward to trick-or-treating with friends on base tonight! That's one thing I love about living on base, its super safe on Halloween night! Savannah is a friendly witch and Porter is a dragon. Here's a couple pictures, but I will take more tonight. Happy Halloween everyone!

Feeling a bit ...of everything!

SO where to begin? I've been feeling so much lately. In a way its kind of nice. Those of you who've known me for a while knows that I used to be a very emotional person. Well somewhere along the line, I lost that to some extent. I don't know if its just the fact that I'm busier and sometimes don't take the time to truly realize my feelings/thoughts or I got better at suppressing it. Well here lately my emotions have been stronger, and its kind of nice. My brother always makes jokes about how cold-hearted or cynical I've become. Well I think we've chipped off some of the ice. As some of you know Rob is leaving in Jan and will be back in May. I've done this kind of separation before, and he goes on TDYs often. This is the first time he will really be gone though...like to the desert gone. I know he will be protected. It just stinks. I know this is what we signed up for and he's been in for 4 years, so its time. So here's the hard part, which shouldn't be hard but it is. I love my family and we've always been maga close. I mean there's not a day that goes by that I don't talk to my brother and Dad multiple times a day. Besides Rob they are my best friends. They asked me last month if we wanted to come stay with them while Rob is gone. It's like all of a sudden this is real for me, Rob's really going and for some reason I thought I had more time. It was a hard decision simply because I had to weigh out the options. What we love about staying here:
-Savannah LOVES her teacher! Her teacher is one of the best teachers I 've seen.
-They have an amazing pediatrician who really knows them.
- We love living on base and if we give up our base house, we may be on a waiting list to get back on (although I truly doubt that)
What we would love about living in Branson:
-My family (enough said)
- closer to friends
-amazing primary school in which the pre-k,k,and 1st grade is a separate school from the grade school and each classroom has 2 teachers (who both have at least a masters degree)
- We don't know where we will be next and I want them to have an oppurtunity to be close to family, especially while daddy's away.

So as for now we've decided that I will move in with my family while Rob's away. So that brings a little stress just trying to get everything ready to go. Either way is going to be hard, this way atleast I will have a stronger suppport group.

Porter's Pictures

Homemade Hummus

I don't know about you, but me and Robbie eat A LOT of hummus, and tonight I decided to try to make it myself, and it turned out SO DELICIOUS!! So I figured I'd share the recipe

Homemade Hummus

• 1 (15.5 ounce) can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained
• 1 small can chopped black olives (optional)olives
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 teaspoon cilantro leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 jalapeno (we like a little spice in ours)
• Combine all ingredients in your food processor or blender and enjoy!! This recipe is so versatile, we've mixed in scallions, roasted red peppers, shallots...you can really add anything.
  

Rob comes home today! Enough said! Savannah had her first soccer practice yesterday and she scored two goals! The girls a natural! We knew those long legs would come in handy.

So I truly love fall, and am so excited that fall is here. At least Oklahoma's form of fall is here. The days are still pretty warm, but the mornings/evenings are crisp and chilly. I've been pulling out the long sleeves and packing up our sandals. This past summer was simply amazing, we did some awesome activities, and just had so much fun, I'm a little sad to see it go, but am also looking forward to autumn...Halloween, Thanksgiving,and carving pumpkins. Today I kicked off the season with baking a couple loaves of pumpkin chocolate-chip bread. I love the way it makes our house smell. I had a beautiful delivery of flowers on Tuesday from my sweetheart. He's coming home tomorrow (hopefully) and we are beyond thrilled! I always miss him like crazy, and this particular assignment seemed unusually long for some reason. I have a pretty fun date planned for Saturday. We have our first soccer practice tonight, that should be way fun. All in all we are doing well and I took Porter to get his 2 year old pictures taken( I know I'm a month late) they turned out so darling!! I can't wait to share!

Is it Friday yet?

SO what a busy week! I know I say that a lot but holy cow! I began my week, trying to find a new home for our Basset hound while discovering I am not a pet person. I always imagined javing a dog (considering I am very allergic to cats, plus I think they are punks) but ewhen it comes down to it ...not really. Maybe it would be different if I weren't constantly in juggling mode. I wanted to start potty-training Porter next week, I am in school, my church responsibilities, a I am Savannah's soccer coach...doesn't leave a lot of time for a dog stinking up my house and messing up my beautifully clean floors. As you might know I am anal about the way my floors feel. I walk around barefoot most of the time, and HATE it when my floors feel anything but clean. So you can imagine what it was like with a new puppy. I know whats its like having a new puppy but I also didn't know what it was like having a puppy while running a household, raising kiddos and a husband away with the military. That's just where I had to draw the line. The good news is we have a very gracious neighbor whom I was venting to , and she agreed to adopt the dog so the children could still see her.
Last week Savannah's soccer organization called me and said that I could come and pick up my team roster and jerseys and start arranging my practices with my girls. Apparently when you check the box to be a volunteer, that may mean you get to be coach. This was the case for me. I thought that by volunteering I would help give rides, bring the drinks/snacks...whatever. Oh no, I am now the coach of Savanni's soccer team. Which I was not thrilled about the added responsibility, when I finished my training, and saw Savannah's response...I am thrilled to be coaching! Tonight we had our first team meeting and the girls picked out there team name. I suggested the Tornados..thinking it would be fitting considering this is Oklahoma...but for girls who were raised in Oklahoma, they looked at me like I just told them there was no Santa or something. We have blue uniforms, so the girls wanted to be the dolphins. The dolphins was a much better idea. Anyway the fields were to muddy to play on tonight so our next practice will be on Thursday and their first game is on Saturday the 26th!
We have a new addition to the Kelly clan... a Nissan Quest. We had been feeling cramped for a while in our little Scion. So I saw an option and took it. Rob has had a lot of free time to look at cars while he's been in Las Vegas and we narrowed it down between a couple we knew we liked . So of course I started speaking to USAA the best bank in the entire planet...seriously we have everything through Usaa they are amazing. I've never had a car in y name, for whatever reason its always been in Rob's or befor eI was married obviously my parents. So I thought this time I would do everything myself...I contacted USAA and got the proper financing and went shopping with Porter and found the perfect vehicle for us. Its a Nissan Quest...big, but not too big, its still somewhat gas efficient (nothing will compare to our XB) and its a nissan and so it should be reliable. Overall, I am satisfied with our choice.
So one week down one more to go and Robbie will be back with us and we will be back in our normal groove. I miss him like always and am so grateful to be married to him.

What a difference a full night of sleep makes. I feel rested,rejuvenated, and happy.

Where to begin

I'm not quite sure where to begin. I love blogging I really do, but when life gets busy this is using the first to go. I am really trying to get back into the swing of things since school started for me and Sav. I
ll begin there, I am so burnt out on school. I have always pretty much loved learning and I don't know if its just the combo of trying to do my best at my mommy duties while trying to do well at my calling at church but I am officially POOPED. I realized this last night as Rob was packing for a beloved trip for work. I am tired. I love my babies so much and am so blessed to have them in my life...I know some women get stressed being a mom but for me...they are my escape from the world. Now don't get me wrong caring for the kiddos, hubby, new mentally challenged basset hound, and a home is exhausting. But I look forward to the quiet times when Porter cuddles me and we look at a book, or when Savanni wanted to curl up and watch a movie or just talk...that girl can talk. Then sometimes you have nights like tonight, when the house is so quiet...my love is on the other side of the country, my babies are asleep, the dishes are done... I feel tired. I'm not throwing myself a pity-party here but I will be beyond thrilled when my degree is finished. I know what some of you think...well why not cut out school? Because it is important to me for many reasons that I finish. I want to set an example to my children of the importance of a secular education. I want to be prepared since I don't know what the future holds, or if there will come a time when I need to support my family. Trust me it would be very easy to cut out schooling and say I can go back when the kids are in school, but I'm afraid if I quit now I won't return. Life will get in the way.
As for tonight I think I will be turning in early.

Greeting from SLC

SO yes, this post is a little behind, but I've been a little busy. Last Friday I flew out to visit my best friend Jamie. We've been friends for so long and we have such an awesome friendship, its like we haven't been apart for years. As you all know my last flight to Salt Lake was canceled, so I was so excited when I actually arrived in Utah. First off we enjoyed a yummy lunch and did some shopping at their awesome outdoor mall. The weather out there was perfect, and very dry. We did our shopping and we also stopped in a chocolate co there at the Gateway and enjoyed a yummy chocolate covered frozen banana. They had everything under the sun...dipped in chocolate. We then met up with Jamie's husband and had dinner at The Mayan. Its this neat jungle-themed restaurant where you have dinner while watching cliff jumpers, its hard to explain but the food was delish! That night we went to a late show and saw "500 Days of Summer". I wasn't a big fan. On Saturday morning we woke up and went to the downtown farmer's market. It kicked the pants off the Oklahoma markets. It was great! I had some latin snacks, and Jamie bought some yummy homemade honey butter and fresh raspberries (which we enjoyed the next morning for breakfast). After we got back from the Farmer's Market we picked up her sister Dana and headed to Lagoon. Its an amusement park similar to six flags. We stayed there until the sun began to set and it was getting chilly sio we decided to leave and get some dinner. We went to this awesome chinese place called Charlie Chows. You put everything that you want in your stirfry on your plate then bring it to the chef and he will cook it right there in front of you...my first dish was not so hot, i mixed the wrong combination of sauces. The second creation was amazing! On Sunday we walked to church and then spent the evening at Temple Square. Its probably one of my favorite places. Its just so beautiful. Over all if I could transplant my family to SLC I would be in heaven. Overall I am so glad I went, and another bonus is Jamie is planning to come out here in March!

Porter's 2nd Birthday

I have to write all of this down before I forget what happened when. Its official my baby boy turned 2 on Friday!! On Thursday Rob's Mom, Brother and Dad flew in, it was also Savannah's first day of school. On Thursday night we had a little party since Rob's Dad and Brother had to go t a conference about 4 hours away the next morning. We had yummy ice cream and cupcakes. Porter got some really fun toys. He's really into trains, planes, and autos....so he received a couple of each and he was beyond thrilled. He has the best smile, and we saw it often that night. Me and Rob also bought him a balancing bike, if you haven't seen these they are pretty neat!
On Friday Rob's sister Amanda flew in and we all went out to dinner, and grabbed some frozen yogurt. After we were back home Amanda let Porter open the presents she bought him, which included a remote controlled TARANTULA!! Yes he had tons of fun with this one!! We also discovered Savannah's deep rooted fear of spiders, at first she wouldn't even look at it, she's come around for the most part but she still won't touch it. On Saturday my parents and my brother Merrill came down and we had a mini party with them too! I'm sure Porter is confused by the more than one birthday. It was so nice to have everyone here. My Porter's a lucky man to have so many who came to show their love for him. I love you baby boy!!!