Thankfulness

The last two Mondays have been what I call “randomosity” posts where I list random things that I am really thankful for, but probably couldn’t write a whole blog post on individually. On this last Monday of the 30 Days of Thanks, I’m continuing the random trend once more.

I am thankful for…

• Scarves. Love ’em! Scarves are such a fun accessory. How else can you dress up a plain tee with jeans and pull together a cute outfit that doesn’t look thrown together? Seriously. If there is one thing I can get on board with when it comes to cooler weather, it’s fun accessories like warm boots and scarves.
• UGA Football’s outstanding season, so far. Okay, UGA Dawg fans, no one smack me for saying “so far”, it’s just that I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself here. But, WOW…the Dawgs have really done well this year. Excepting that one, quite painful, loss to South Carolina, the Dawgs have been getting it done. Now, it’s on to the Dome to roll the Tide. GO DAWGS!
• The Harry Potter book series. I did not read these books when they first came out several years ago. Just this year, Macey took an interest in them, so I decided I would read them too. I can definitely see why there is such a hype over these books. Very well written and captivating.
• Keurig and Starbucks. My Keurig gets me my necessary morning caffeine fast which is always a plus. And, Starbucks is a really nice treat on days when I just need that extra something. Yay, coffee! 😉
• Lip balm. I am far from being a lip balm “addict”, but this really the time of year where I rely on it to keep my lips, as well as the girls’, from getting crazy dried out and chapped. I am so glad that I can find organic balms that work well for a reasonable price too.
• Cyber Monday. I am all about doing as much shopping online as I can this time of  year. (And, yes, it’s possible to support small business that way — check out Etsy for some great items.) No crowds, good prices and items delivered right to the door? I’m in!
• The girls’ piano lessons. The girls have been taking piano lessons from a teacher who recently retired from their elementary school. Ms. Horton is such a sweetheart and is a wonderful piano teacher. Macey has been playing since this summer and Mariana just started recently. They love it and Ms. Horton keeps the learning fun for them!
• Chocolate. Need I elaborate on why I am thankful for chocolate? I think this one is self explanatory. YUM!

That’s it for today. Randomosity strikes again. 🙂

Hope you all have a wonderful day,
Kelly 

Today is officially the last day of Thanksgiving break and the girls head back to school tomorrow. It was a very nice and much needed break for all of us.

Today I’m taking an opportunity to be thankful for the Thanksgiving break. Highlights of the break include:

• Sleeping in some. As I’ve said before, “sleeping in” generally means 8am at the latest, but we’ll take it.
• A wonderful Thanksgiving day. Papa and Mimi came over for lunch and we not only had great company, but also lots of delicious food.
• A short but sweet visit to see our family in Southwest Georgia the day after Thanksgiving. It was a whirlwind adventure, but it was a great one!
• Eating yummy Thanksgiving leftovers. What’s not to love about pumpkin pie, pound cake and turkey sandwiches? MMMM!
• Photos with Santa. The girls had their 2012 Santa portrait session at Clear Creek Imagestoday and it was fantastic. “Miss” Linda is just as sweet as can be and incredibly talented as a photographer. We can’t wait to see the images she captured. Thanks, Linda!
• Decorating the house for Christmas. We aren’t quite done with this, but it’s been FUN to get started. Our “Sweet Bea tree” has been up for over a week and it is now joined by most of the rest of our Christmas decorations. It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas around our home. And, soon we’ll get the yard lights and decorations done too. So exciting!
• Spending time with family and friends. This is always great and we had some special times with our family and friends over this break.

So, as the girls get ready to head back to school tomorrow, we will start the countdown to Christmas and also the two and a half week winter holiday break.

Happy Sunday, y’all…
Kelly 

As a small business co-owner’s wife, I am very thankful for small businesses. Mickey and his business partner, Ali,co-own and operate Green Mellen Media. (You can like the Green Mellen FB page here and sign up to receive informational updates here.) Green Mellen is a local business that offers web development, graphic design and a host of other related services. While it may be true that I am slightly biased here, I also know without any doubt that Mickey and Ali are both completely amazing at what they do. I am proud of the company and reputation for excellence that they are building and I love to give recommendations every chance I get.

Did you know that today is Small Business Saturday? Use this day, and every other day, actually, to shop locally. Shop small, as they say. Small businesses depend on local community support and strive to give back their very best to their communities. When you support small businesses, you know you aren’t paying a ton extra in overhead expenses and you can feel confident knowing you are helping your fellow community members.

Besides, Green Mellen, I’d like to recommend some other great small businesses. Please forgive me if you read over this list and I have inadvertently left off a listing. Contact me and I’ll be happy to add because I am always thrilled to do anything I can to promote local and small business. We are all in this together!

• Bellanonna Boutique – My friend Samantha McCall is the owner/operator of Bellanonna. Bellanonna products  are Earth friendly, all natural beauty products.  All  products are all natural and do not contain any harsh chemicals or toxins.
• C’est Moi – C’est Moi is located in Marietta, GA and offers a wonderful array of gifts and accessories for the home inspired by French design principles and Paris style. It is such a fun store with an amazing selection of merchandise. Bonus, you can grab some delicious cuisine right next door at The Cafe Paris. What’s not to love?
• Clear Creek Images – Linda Scott is a seriously talented photographer. I have seen the amazing work she has done for friends and our girls have a Santa portrait session with her today. If you can take one look at her newborn sessions without swooning, then I’ll be amazed. Her family sessions are beautiful too. Check out the site and book a session with Clear Creek.
• Falco Photography –  Mickey and I first met Jen and Rick Falco back in the summer of 2001 when we were planning our wedding. As soon as we met with them, we instantly knew we wanted them to shoot our engagement and wedding photos. We loved our wedding photos and we have loved the family sessions they have done for us since then. Rick and Jen are not only incredibly nice, but extremely talented as well. I give them high recommendations for your photography needs.
• Glory Haus – My friend Claudia introduced me to Glory Haus a few years ago and I am HOOKED!! Glory Haus is a faith based, home decor company out of Marietta, Georgia. Their selections include frames, tiles, decorative boards, and Christmas decorations that are inspirational, whimsical, and very reasonably priced. Every year I add to my Glory Haus collection. Love it!
• Marshmallow Dream – I discovered this great embroidery shop via Facebook. They do amazing embroidery work on market totes, baby items and more. All done locally in Smyrna, Georgia!
• Three Little Pixies – My friend Liz makes and sells gorgeous hand-stamped jewelry. Check out her Etsy site and I guarantee you will find something you love and some awesome gift items as well. This weekend you can use the code “HOLIDAY25” for 25% off your order!

Again, if I inadvertently missed anyone, my apologies. These are some wonderful small businesses that I know of and I know there are lots more out there. Support your local business, y’all.

Have a great day,
Kelly 

It’s the day after Thanksgiving, but the thanks don’t stop just yet. In fact, I’d like to continue this in some way once the 30-day challenge for November is completed. I’m thinking along the lines of something like “Thankful Thursdays.” Something to keep me posting here at least semi-regularly since I’m on a roll.

Today feels like a good day for another random list.

I am thankful for…

• A community of compassion. I don’t just mean the community we live in, but the community of compassion at large. Most recently I have seen this in action when people from all over the country have placed Christmas items on display in their homes in honor of Sweet Bea and her family. Many of these people don’t actually know Bea or her family, but her story has touched their hearts. It has been awesome to see. (And, on that note, please continue to keep Bea and her family in your most uplifting thoughts and prayers.)
• Prayer – This ties back into the community of compassion in a lot of ways. I know that many are offering up prayers for Bea and her family and I have other friends and family members who are being held up in prayer too. Prayer is our connection to God and I am so thankful that we have it.
• Comfort food. Our Thanksgiving meal had some of my most favorite comfort foods ever – cornbread dressing, sweet potato casserole, etc. Nothing fancy about it, just plain good.
• Humidifiers. In the summertime down South, the humidity can be pretty crazy. But, lately it’s been super dry in our house and I am so thankful to be able to crank up the humidifiers to remedy that little issue.
• Flip-Flops – Y’all, I wore flip-flops two days this week! I’m not even kidding. It was warm enough and I went for it. I basically live in flip-flops all summer and I usually put them away when it gets cool. Glad I had a pair handy recently.
• The ability to resist Black Friday sales – Okay, so there was a time in my life when I got up early with a friend and we hit the stores for the deals. You know what? We had a ball. More than anything else, we just enjoyed hanging out together. But, in recent years I haven’t hit any of the BF sales. While I miss the girlfriend time, I don’t miss getting up early or the crazy crowds. I’m more of a Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday (okay, Cyber December) kind of gal.
• Being Southern – I say “y’all” a lot, I like my tea sweet (although with Splenda these days), I’m a big fan of grits, I adore SEC college football (GO DAWGS), I can quote basically the whole original “Steel Magnolias” movie, I always wondered what really happened to Scarlett and Rhett, I could see naming a child Atticus or Scout, I enjoy riding down random country dirt roads to see where they lead, and I still say “yes ma’am/no ma’am” and “yes sir/no sir” to my elders. I’m a Southern girl through and through.

Well, that’s today’s list. Hope everyone has a great day today. If you got out into the madness, I hope you scored some amazing deals. 🙂 Don’t forget that tomorrow is Small Business Saturday. Support your local small businesses. Keeping it local helps everyone.

Be blessed, y’all…
Kelly 

Happy Thanksgiving, y’all…from our family to yours.

On this day, I am thankful for the gifts of faith. I know that without God above, nothing I am thankful for would amount to anything at all. I am thankful for…

• God’s grace. None of us can ever earn it, but, thankfully, it doesn’t work that way anyway. God is so gracious and good.
• Salvation. I know that God has rescued me and saved me by the sacrifice of Jesus. And, for that I am grateful. Completely unworthy and eternally grateful.
• Redemption. I know with all my heart that it’s true that the past doesn’t matter and that God can and WILL orchestrate a beautiful future for those who believe in Him.
• Purpose. God’s Word promises all of us that He has a plan for each of us. While I have to be honest here and say that I have not always been faithful to follow His directive on my life, He has been faithful to have a purpose for my life in spite of me.

As I always say when I post a list, it’s true again that this list is incomplete. The gifts God graciously pours out over my life are boundless. Without Him and without the blood of Christ, I would be and have nothing. All good things are from Him and through Him, so I just want to turn the praises back to Him.

Thank you, God, for blessing my life so richly even though I don’t deserve it. Thank you for the gift of Jesus, for the promise of eternal life and for guidance to get through this one. Even when I don’t understand things about this life and I’m hurting, I know You are there and that Your promises will prevail for the good. Thank you for my family, friends, loved ones and the boundless blessings you pour into my life. I am grateful. In Christ’s name…amen. 

Hope you all have a blessed and beautiful day…
Kelly