On this blogger site you can see who is looking at your blog. Not necessarily WHO but where they are located when they read my blog
I have at least one reader from 8 different countries.
United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Russia, Belgium, France, India
Who are you people? I know Australia is Cotterface! :) Belgium?!? I have no idea who that could possibly be. I can guess that Mera accounts for one of those countries. :)
Anyways, I thought that was interesting!
-Kelli
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Thursday, December 29, 2011
eight countries--one blog
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Christmas season
**Please ignore my blog layout up there. I'm trying to fix it but to tired to work anymore on it :)**
Growing up I knew we would be spending Thanksgiving in Houston (mom's family) and Christmas was spent every other year Denver (dad's family) & Houston. Without asking, we just did it. I wonder if my parents decided this before they were married?
When Teddy and I were engaged we were encouraged to discuss these expectations early on. While we did discuss it, we did not come to any conclusion. Most of it was going to depend on $$, from what we thought. And our first holiday season we had to spend Thanksgiving in Lubbock due to Teddy's job. He actually worked on Thanksgiving and we had dinner with my sister/brother-in-law & my parents drove in from Keller. Christmas we were able to celebrate with my parents in Lubbock, drive to Wichita Falls to be with Teddy's mom and his Dad/step-mom/sisters drove in for one dinner to Wichita Falls. So we were able to see all 3 families for Christmas. It was great!
This year we were in a completely different spot in our life. We have transitioned to a different job and traveling a lot currently. Our holiday season this year was dependent on our work schedule yet again. We needed to spend some time in Houston raising support so we decided that Houston was where we were headed for Thanksgiving. It worked great because my parents were headed there too. We truly had the best time in Houston with my family!
Christmas we pretty much played by ear according to our support schedule. We ended up having Christmas with my parents/sister/bro-in-law in Lubbock on the 19th. Then we headed to Wichita Falls on the 22nd to spend two days there with Teddy's mom/stepdad/siblings/nana..etc. We really enjoyed our time staying with Teddy's Nana. She made us breakfast both mornings and we just sat and talked about her growing up in the depression. She had amazing stories. She likes to talk about Jesus too, so that is always fun! I can officially say that I have met all of Teddy's siblings now. :) I met Matt & Jackie, his step-siblings this trip.
After doing Xmas dinner there in WF we headed to Krum, Tx (5 mins North of Denton) for Christmas Eve/Day and few days after with Teddy's Dad/step-mom/sisters. We had late nights talking. We enjoyed seeing what Santa brought us Christmas morning. We spent a lot of time just relaxing next to the fire. We enjoyed being with Teddy's half sisters. We even got to see We Bought a Zoo. I really enjoyed the movie!
I really thought this Christmas was going to be "awkward" because we couldn't buy any gifts. But, I truly felt at ease at all 3 of our Christmases. We really do enjoy giving, so it's hard for us not to. We feel blessed that our family would still give to us even though we can offer nothing but love. :)
So yea, we have no traditions quite yet as far as where we will head when. Luckily, we are both pretty flexible and willing to work together to see family. Next year, when we have our normal work schedule we will have the entire week off for Thanksgiving and Christmas we will be off around the 15th-31st. This is one of the perks of our job. I'm looking forward to planning, instead of last minute get aways for the holidays.
I'm also looking forward to having our own babies sooner than later. This will bring in an entire new twist as we develop our OWN traditions for our family. :) I've seen so many fun things families do with kiddos around the holidays. I'm just tucking them away in my head for the future.
We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
-Kelli
Growing up I knew we would be spending Thanksgiving in Houston (mom's family) and Christmas was spent every other year Denver (dad's family) & Houston. Without asking, we just did it. I wonder if my parents decided this before they were married?
When Teddy and I were engaged we were encouraged to discuss these expectations early on. While we did discuss it, we did not come to any conclusion. Most of it was going to depend on $$, from what we thought. And our first holiday season we had to spend Thanksgiving in Lubbock due to Teddy's job. He actually worked on Thanksgiving and we had dinner with my sister/brother-in-law & my parents drove in from Keller. Christmas we were able to celebrate with my parents in Lubbock, drive to Wichita Falls to be with Teddy's mom and his Dad/step-mom/sisters drove in for one dinner to Wichita Falls. So we were able to see all 3 families for Christmas. It was great!
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| Christmas in Wichita Falls |
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| Christmas with my family in Lubbock |
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| Colton's first Christmas |
Christmas we pretty much played by ear according to our support schedule. We ended up having Christmas with my parents/sister/bro-in-law in Lubbock on the 19th. Then we headed to Wichita Falls on the 22nd to spend two days there with Teddy's mom/stepdad/siblings/nana..etc. We really enjoyed our time staying with Teddy's Nana. She made us breakfast both mornings and we just sat and talked about her growing up in the depression. She had amazing stories. She likes to talk about Jesus too, so that is always fun! I can officially say that I have met all of Teddy's siblings now. :) I met Matt & Jackie, his step-siblings this trip.
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| One of 5 dogs at Teddy's dads house |
I really thought this Christmas was going to be "awkward" because we couldn't buy any gifts. But, I truly felt at ease at all 3 of our Christmases. We really do enjoy giving, so it's hard for us not to. We feel blessed that our family would still give to us even though we can offer nothing but love. :)
So yea, we have no traditions quite yet as far as where we will head when. Luckily, we are both pretty flexible and willing to work together to see family. Next year, when we have our normal work schedule we will have the entire week off for Thanksgiving and Christmas we will be off around the 15th-31st. This is one of the perks of our job. I'm looking forward to planning, instead of last minute get aways for the holidays.
I'm also looking forward to having our own babies sooner than later. This will bring in an entire new twist as we develop our OWN traditions for our family. :) I've seen so many fun things families do with kiddos around the holidays. I'm just tucking them away in my head for the future.
We hope you had a wonderful Christmas!
-Kelli
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Emergency Room Visit
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| My pretty bracelet! |
Teddy and I had enjoyed a day of studying, a surprise gift card in the mail led us to eat dinner at On the border. It was yummy. We ended the night hanging out with some friends (The Bollens) at their house doing a puzzle. While doing the puzzle my stomach started to hurt and progressively got worse. I went to the bathroom thinking it was just that, but no I was wrong. The main only got worse.
We left their house about 45 mins after I initially felt the bad pain. I knew we had to go to the ER, even though Teddy thought it was gas. I just KNEW it wasn't that. It hurt.
So off we went to the hospital around 10:30pm. We wait wasn't too long to finally get in. One nurse tried setting me up for an IV and just dug around not finding the vein. I was annoyed and in pain. Mostly because I told her that I had blood drawn 2 different times in the past 2 years from my right arm quite successfully. But no, she went for my left arm and couldn't get it. They brought in another nurse who got it immediately on my RIGHT arm. Sometimes they should listen to their patient. :)
After more waiting and more pain they finally got me back into a room. Set me up on a fluid IV and pain meds. They also made me drink a nasty mix shot of stuff for acid reflux. They thought it might be pertaining to that. Turns out my blood work leaned towards a slight case of pancreatitis. Basically your pancreas produces enzymes to help break down your food for your small intestine. If you eat a large meal your pancreas can over work itself and become inflamed aka causing plenty of pain.
They sent me home around 2am still in pain. We went to the 24/7 CVS to pick up my prescription for pain meds and finally made it home and in bed by 3am. I slept pain free because of pain meds. Praise the Lord. We left the very next day for Wichita Falls.
If there was anything I would ask for prayer for, it would be just our trust in the Lord for him to provide the finances to take care of these medical bills. We still have hundreds of dollars of medical bills unsettled from Teddy's trip to the ER this summer due to insurance being a pain in the rear end. So these new hospital bills are more stressful. Mostly because our insurance does not cover blood work & there was no option...we had to. The Lord has ALWAYS provided for us. Whether it's random $ popping up, providing us extra work to make that $ to pay bills, or just giving us wisdom on how to manage our $ differently in order to pay. His provision may not be clear RIGHT NOW, but I know He is in control. But there are definitely days where I choose to believe in the lies and not stand on the truth. So pray that we would remember the truth in days that we feel discouraged. :) Grateful for your prayers! I will keep you posted!
Oh and I can't leave this blog without giving a loving shout out to my wonderful husband. What a trooper he was that evening. He was such a comfort to have. He keeps me calm! Thanks sweetie!
-Kells
Saturday, December 17, 2011
currently...
Obsessing over: hot chocolate, boots, Pandora station called Christmas Jazz, facebook timeline, sleep
Working on: learning mail chimp (anyone wanna help?), sending out emails for work, re-designing the blog (ignore the mess currently)
Thinking about: our budget, support appointment coming up tonight, new goals for 2012, my sweet hubby
Anticipating: Winter Conference (www.thewinterconference.com), finishing support raising, Christmas with all 3 families, 2 yr anniversary (yes, I'm aware its in March...but still), so many friends sweet belly's growing with babies & having them in the summer!!
Listening to: Texas High School football on the TV (watching Southlake Carroll in the finals)
Drinking: water from my purple camel pak :)
Wishing: For normalcy, our own home, for a baby (someday)...so first a puppy...yes, wishing for a puppy :)
Christmas is soon. This season is different for us this year because we don't have $$ to shower others with gifts. I think the Lord is teaching me about my perspective of this holiday. I heard something recently that is helping me in this...It's Jesus' birthday..not mine. Interesting thoughts. Anyways, I will let you know how my perspective is throughout Christmas.
-Kelli
Working on: learning mail chimp (anyone wanna help?), sending out emails for work, re-designing the blog (ignore the mess currently)
Thinking about: our budget, support appointment coming up tonight, new goals for 2012, my sweet hubby
Anticipating: Winter Conference (www.thewinterconference.com), finishing support raising, Christmas with all 3 families, 2 yr anniversary (yes, I'm aware its in March...but still), so many friends sweet belly's growing with babies & having them in the summer!!
Listening to: Texas High School football on the TV (watching Southlake Carroll in the finals)
Drinking: water from my purple camel pak :)
Wishing: For normalcy, our own home, for a baby (someday)...so first a puppy...yes, wishing for a puppy :)
Christmas is soon. This season is different for us this year because we don't have $$ to shower others with gifts. I think the Lord is teaching me about my perspective of this holiday. I heard something recently that is helping me in this...It's Jesus' birthday..not mine. Interesting thoughts. Anyways, I will let you know how my perspective is throughout Christmas.
-Kelli
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
update on our world
November felt like a whirlwind. Granted, we did stay in Lubbock for 3 weeks. That is the longest we have stayed in one spot since August. Travel travel travel.
We drove from DFW to Lubbock. Stayed for 3 weeks. Drove from LBK to Houston for a week. Now we are back up in DFW and leaving for Lbk this coming weekend. Will be in Lbk for 2 weeks or so. Traveling either to Dfw or Wichita Falls for Xmas. Then have to report on December 31st for The Winter Conference (student conference...such fun!) until January 5th.
Welcome to our world. :)
We had such a wonderful time in Houston for Thanksgiving! Probably one of the best trip I've ever had in Houston. It was just a blast! Its been three years since I've been in Houston with my family and Teddy has never been down there. The weather was great! We spent time playing basketball, playing card games, eating deliciousness, shopping for black friday, singing a lot (the norm for the Lambert fam--mom's side), hanging out with my cousins, went to see a movie, had some encouraging support appointments, and hung out with Brett/Kimbo. Overall just a great time.
My mom, cousin (Jessica), and I went black friday shopping. We went to the midnight opening at Kohls. We shopped for only 45 mins but stood in line for over an hour & half. How crazy is that? I came for one thing and walked away with one thing. I wanted brown boots and got them. They were normally $95 but I got them for $35. SCORE! It was worth it and I crawled into bed at 3:30am...instead of the normal waking up at that time to get up and go stand in a line some where. I've alway done black friday. It's fun and a rush!
It was great to see Brett and Kimbo in Houston. We spent an afternoon/evening with them! Since leaving Lubbock in June to head to New Staff training with them, we knew things we changing. We knew the four of us were not returning back to Lubbock together again for normal life. We are so lucky to have a job that has touch points so we will continue to see them even though they will be living in Baton Rouge. That is FAR from Lubbock. We saw them in October for a conference, we will see them again for Winter Conference in the end of December, and then who knows after that. Either way...we are blessed! :)
Teddy and I are recovering currently. Our bodies are making that loud and clear. We are tired and have managed to both be sick. Sore throats, running nose, coughing, phlegm (that's for you cot)...it's lovely.We actually haven't been sick at all since we started raising support. So we feel blessed!
Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!
-Kells
We drove from DFW to Lubbock. Stayed for 3 weeks. Drove from LBK to Houston for a week. Now we are back up in DFW and leaving for Lbk this coming weekend. Will be in Lbk for 2 weeks or so. Traveling either to Dfw or Wichita Falls for Xmas. Then have to report on December 31st for The Winter Conference (student conference...such fun!) until January 5th.
Welcome to our world. :)
We had such a wonderful time in Houston for Thanksgiving! Probably one of the best trip I've ever had in Houston. It was just a blast! Its been three years since I've been in Houston with my family and Teddy has never been down there. The weather was great! We spent time playing basketball, playing card games, eating deliciousness, shopping for black friday, singing a lot (the norm for the Lambert fam--mom's side), hanging out with my cousins, went to see a movie, had some encouraging support appointments, and hung out with Brett/Kimbo. Overall just a great time.
My mom, cousin (Jessica), and I went black friday shopping. We went to the midnight opening at Kohls. We shopped for only 45 mins but stood in line for over an hour & half. How crazy is that? I came for one thing and walked away with one thing. I wanted brown boots and got them. They were normally $95 but I got them for $35. SCORE! It was worth it and I crawled into bed at 3:30am...instead of the normal waking up at that time to get up and go stand in a line some where. I've alway done black friday. It's fun and a rush!
It was great to see Brett and Kimbo in Houston. We spent an afternoon/evening with them! Since leaving Lubbock in June to head to New Staff training with them, we knew things we changing. We knew the four of us were not returning back to Lubbock together again for normal life. We are so lucky to have a job that has touch points so we will continue to see them even though they will be living in Baton Rouge. That is FAR from Lubbock. We saw them in October for a conference, we will see them again for Winter Conference in the end of December, and then who knows after that. Either way...we are blessed! :)
Teddy and I are recovering currently. Our bodies are making that loud and clear. We are tired and have managed to both be sick. Sore throats, running nose, coughing, phlegm (that's for you cot)...it's lovely.We actually haven't been sick at all since we started raising support. So we feel blessed!
Hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving!
-Kells
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