{relay for life}

yesterday marks the one year mark for ryan getting to go meet Jesus...

goodness we miss him every day!

a group of us; friends, family, and supporters are participating in relay for life at the beginning of june in honor of ry.  we are relaying because we believe a cure is possible, and as a way to honor the life that ryan lived- a life full of hope, joy, and trust.

many of us are trying to fundraise to help find a cure, as well as to provide care for individuals and their families here in lexington as they go through cancer treatments.  if you feel so called, below i've posted my page where you can donate.  our team goal is $1000, and even just lots of small donations will help us get there.

also, i've been making hair accessories (and soon coffee cozies) for $5.  i haven't taken any pictures of new ones, but if you're interested in those, message me and i'll be happy to describe some of the ones i've made.


thank you, friends... i know many of you prayed for ryan, for his family, and for us, his classmates during everything.

help us find a cure :)

my relay page

{soooo busy}

phew!

it has been a crazy weekend... crazy, but so, so good :)

friday was one of my favorite holidays: EARTH DAY!  it's a day where i can be a total hippie and it's encouraged!  i started out my day wishing all of my middle schooler's a happy earth day (they think i'm crazy, i like it that way) and THEN heading to....

the ale 8 factory!  if you aren't from kentucky and don't know what ale 8 is, you're so missing out.  it's amazing and delicious and so kentucky.  i've always wanted to tour the factory, so after being here for 6 years, i finally made it!  it was quite fun :)

after that, i took ian to his first earth day celebration at uk.  it's great... we got free food, more free ale 8, i made a seed bomb, and we got free earth day shirts for signing up to help clean out a stream next weekend!  sooo fun

after that, we got our free starbucks for having refillable mugs (heck yes), then headed to c-bus!

while in columbus, ian experienced his first mushroom hunt AND found a dead deer.. a 10 point buck, which my father fastened to the front of our jeep.  it's hick, i love my family :)

we went to church, got to see a lot of my family, watched some baby chicks hatch (my mommy raises them for her preschool)

 and got to celebrate easter and the hope of the resurrection of Jesus :)

it was a very wonderful weekend and i'm so thankful for Jesus and the reason to celebrate!

{celebrating}

today was a good day...

i didn't need a jacket when i went to work today, it wasn't raining, i went to starbucks, we talked in strange accents all day in the sweltering workroom; all in a day's work at grad school!

but the good parts came in the afternoon.

as a lot of you know, a good friend and classmate passed away almost a year ago.  today, eku had a service to remember students, faculty and staff who passed away.  while the pain is still there, and we miss ry every day, it was so good to celebrate the life he lived and how he lived it.  it was fun to reminisce about ryan's endless bag of candy, his way of making everyone laugh and feel comfortable wherever he went, and the love he had for life.

ryan serves as a constant reminder for the closeness of our class at eku.  we aren't just students in the same major, we're family, and i love us.

ryan's parents are our class's mom and dad, and i'm so thankful for two wonderful people who shared their amazing son with us, and continue to stay in touch (and they chose to celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary with us!  way to go, mom and dad!), we love and support each other with a special bond that is unique to our class. (also, next time we're together, SOMEONE remember a camera!)

i am very blessed by the family of parents, classmates and professors i have at eku.


i got to end the night with a homemade meal by ian, followed by icees and a 2 hour walk around lexington under a clear sky and perfect temperatures :)


it's days like today that remind me how truly blessed i am, and how days like today will remain etched in my memory forever.

{excitement!}

so this post comes a day late, but my thursdays are simply too busy to post...

happy (belated) birthday to my wonderful mama!

i can't wait to go home in 2 weeks and see her and the rest of my family... i miss them!
i hope you had a wonderful day!  daddy got you beautiful flowers!  can't wait to see you, ma!

yesterday was such a beautiful day out!  the weather was just about perfect, class wasn't terrible, i got to hang out with a little baby for a few hours... i got to help out with a fluency therapy, which i love, AND ian's staying at uk next year :)  he was picking between texas a & m and uk for grad school... i'm glad he won't be hours and hours away next year!  now, will we ever see each other?  probably not... i'll be doing externship, he'll be busy with class and t.a. stuff, BUT he'll be in kentucky :)

tonight is trivia night at applebee's with sam and preece, so it should be fun!  i'm looking forward to a weekend of sleeping in, finishing up projects, and relaxing :)

{conglomeration}

ahhhh yes... big word wednesday ;)

it describes my day quite nicely.

as you all know, brownie has been leaking in the trunk.  after all the rain we've been having, she's at it again.  i thought it was the weather stripping, so i took myself to auto zone, bought some, and brought it home.  opened up the package, and it was too short.  awesome.  also add to this, it's not the right kind of weather stripping.  soooo i left my trunk open for a while, mowed the grass, epoxied my siding back to my car (say goodbye to the hot pink duct tape!), and went for a drive.  after driving through a few puddles, checking on the trunk again, i have now come to the conclusion that it has a hole some where b/c the water is coming up through the bottom.  that's super fabulous!

because my morning of grass cutting and car fixing was too manly, i'm currently making cookies.  from scratch.  #winning

i found a recipe for chocolate chip coconut cookies, so we're trying it.  currently, they aren't really spreading out at all, which is a bummer, BUT they taste like summer :)

here's the recipe if you want to try them!

1 cup butter, soft
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp coconut extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup flaked coconut
2 cups chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and coconut extract. Stir in dry ingredients, then coconut and chips. Drop by rounded spoonfuls on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375° for 9-10 minutes or till lightly browned.
-Makes 4 dozen

aside from me baking the first batch a tad long (they took about 5-10 minutes longer, but i was also using a baking stone) and them being crumbly, they're really, really good.

{rain and shine}

i love kentucky.

we have some of the most beautiful country EVER.  but, that beautiful bluegrass doesn't just appear.  something has to come to cause it... that would be rain
i actually really like rain, especially at night.  thunderstorms have never scared me, but comforted me.  i like the rumble, the beauty of the lightning, the way the rain smells and how it hits the roof and windows.  i do wish i had a better pair of rain boots BUT, that's life :)

i love the sun even more.  friday, i spent the day at keeneland with the lovely lauren preece.  it was such a nice day (and college day so we got free t shirts and food!) with some much needed sun!  saturday and sunday i spent a lot of time out walking around with the boy.  the weather was just PERFECT.  not too hot, not too breezy... just wonderful!  add to sunday, we went to our friends, the harrison's house for lunch!  ashley made homemade pizza, all the way down to the dough.... you should check out her blog here davidandashleyharrison.tumblr.com for the recipe, among other things :)  it was so good, and something ian and i are going to try on our own!

the clouds were perfect

my attempt to get artsy!

i'm glad it's turning to summer... i love all the seasons- it's one of the reasons i love kentucky- i get all 4 seasons, BUT i love being outside.  i was that kid who was outside all summer with no shoes on and dirty all the time.  i haven't changed much.

havin some fun in the arboretum

p.s. sorry the blog has been uber lame lately.... funny how grad school and life happen, and blogging just takes a back seat.  it happens.  it will probably continue to happen :)

{worship}

there is something about music that speaks to me.  i can't really sing, but i love to attempt.  i don't know if it's growing up around music and playing violin since i was little, or what it is, but music seems to say things i can't convey otherwise.

i feel closest to God when i'm worshipping.

one of my favorite quotes speaks to this : Without worship, we go about miserable- A.W. Tozer


it's so true.  i can tell when i just need to get in my car and not turn on the radio, but put on my ipod and listen to my worship playlist.  sometimes i just need to praise God and not focus on my own life so much.

a few years ago, i got the opportunity to start playing violin with the band at 608 (http://www.southlandchristian.org/).  at first, i won't lie, i was terrified.  standing up on stage playing before almost 2000 people can do that to you.  i love though that over the years, i don't focus on the crowds.  i don't focus on the people.  i focus on getting to play for my King... maybe it's because i've matured and grown in my faith, maybe it's because i'm not as concerned about what people think as i once was, maybe it's because i've become accustomed to playing on stage.  whatever it is, last night was a unique experience.  for the first time, i didn't notice the cameras, i wasn't concerned about my ears and hearing the music, i just worshipped.

this is my new favorite worship song and one of the ones we played last night... grace like an avalanche.  it's beautiful.  it's so true.  nothing compares to this love.

another is desert song.  it's by the same group, hillsong.  i love that it covers every season of life... a season of need, a season of growth, a season of hope... praising God in it all, simply because he IS God and for no other reason

finally, revelation song... i've gotten to hear it a few times in the past few weeks at church and i could sing it every week.  it's beautiful.  God is beautiful.


i'm so thankful for the ability to play violin.  it's not something i always enjoyed growing up, but it is  certainly something that's become so special to me... i love being able to worship God with my voice and with my playing.  it's one of my favorite ways to spend time with him...

{UK}

ok.  i don't usually post this late, BUT one of my neighbors has a dog that's been barking for the past 30 minutes straight, and i can't sleep.

to the uk basketball team:

boys, boys, boys.  you played a heck of a season.  if someone would have asked how far you all would get half way through the season- even the end of the season- the answer wouldn't have been the final 4.  but you did it.  you came together as a team and started to believe in yourselves and in each other.

jorts... they will be evident in classrooms across campus for months to come.  you have proven yourself to be a senior leader this year.  it's been fun to watch you grow, mature, and win the hearts of kentuckians everywhere.  best of luck to wherever life takes you!

knight... from the first games in canada, it was obvious you were going to make yourself known.  you've consistently been the 'go-to' guy, crazy fast and smooth on the court, and brought the consistency on the floor when others were down.

doron... please teach me how to drain 3's.

liggens... you've grown up so much.  matured and are a true leader.  and secretly, i love when you run your mouth and are a punk.  if i was any good at basketball, we'd get in trouble for the same things.

coach cal... thanks for coming to lexington!  you believe in your boys when they don't believe in themselves and you will forever be a part of lexington.

boys, please stick around next year... the final 4 was amazing, but i want to see you boys bring home a title!

i'm proud of the cats.  i love being a kentucky wildcat and bleeding blue.  there's nothing like the fans and the environment here in central kentucky!  go big blue!

now if only that dang dog would stop barking so i could get some sleep...

{when grad school makes you crazy}

crazy is a funny word.  crazy can be bad, but crazy can also be good.

yesterday's crazy was a good crazy :)

my day just started off on the right foot... sometimes God just knows what i need in life so much better than i do (ok, like all the time...) and yesterday was a testament to that.  i needed my day to start off that way.

work was funny.  i love middle schoolers.  they're at such an awkward age.  but the best part is, they have NO idea.  one of my kids told me "miss kellie, don't get too close, i forgot to brush my teeth".  i mean really?  who has time to put on lip gloss and sparkly shoes and a skirt, but doesn't remember to brush their teeth, then tells me about it?  oh yes... my middle schoolers.

therapy was awesome.  i needed a good session, and it was amazing.  i felt like i connected to my client and we made huge progress, and that just is awesome to see!

my classmates at eastern are simply hilarious.  grad school is hard.  there's no getting around that, and it's supposed to be hard... i know this... still, hard isn't always fun.  we make it our goal to change that.  yesterday was deemed "high school ghetto days".  Confession time... in high school, i wanted to be so ghetto.  i'm super white. (please note that my lovely roommate, dupps was also ghetto, and this is one of the things i love about her... also she's super crafty, so you should check out her blog too!)  ANYWAYS.  so we busted out rap music from way back when and may or may not have had a dance party in the workroom that may or may not have found its way out into the hallway.  i have classmates that can bust a move, and i'm so glad we simply have FUN together!  school is hard enough without not getting along, and i love my eku family.  we are there for each other, love each other, and aren't afraid to break it down with each other.

if you're ever in richmond, you should come meet everyone- they're super awesome.

finally, my night at school ended, and i headed to csf to hear jon weece talk.  he's the pastor of southland, and just an amazing man with a heart for people.  on the way there, i got a call from my favorite munchkin asking me if i would be at csf.  so i got to hear jon weece, i got to hang out with world's cutest 3 year old AND *wait for it* the night ended with free orange leaf.  which shameless plug, if you haven't tried orange leaf, you TOTALLY NEED TO! orange leaf was brought to lexington by some guys i know, and it's amazing.  self-serve frozen yogurt with every topping imaginable.  if you go, try the pineapple-coconut.  fabulous.


i am so blessed!  and life is crazy in a good way :)