Things we learned in May!

Keep up with the routine stuff! Upon a seemingly routine eye exam for Kelly, she was shocked to discover that her vision had changed quite a bit in the last two years. While we're now seeing the world through fresher eyes (Holly's new vision insurance should be coming in soon), it reminded us to continue advocating for our health and taking care of ourselves.

Broken AC is no fun. Last week, our AC decided to stop working (And then it was 85+ the next day as a high). Even though we grew up without AC, it's amazing how different 86 inside feels in an open, hardwood floored house versus a less-than-1000-square-foot mostly carpeted apartment.

The pollen this year is NOT messing around. We've both come down with cold-like symptoms this year. I think I'm (Holly) still blowing my nose after 3 weeks...

Having the opportunity to meet family is a privilege. We had the opportunity to meet Justin's older brother and sister-in-law as they visited from Australia! We spent a few days with them in various settings, but it was an absolutely lovely time with lovelier people. For me (Holly) it was especially a privilege, getting to know the family of someone I've grown to care about very much.

Life is short. Very short. A friend to many from our church passed away after an awful motorcycle accident. The fact that he even survived after the accident itself is a miracle. But as friends of ours gathered together to grieve this loss, it reminded us how short life is. It's only but a vapor, a brief moment in time. Make the most of it. Don't dwell on the negative. Tell those you love that you love them and tell them often. Be thankful for what you have.

Sister time is STILL important! We had a sister date that involved iced coffee and pedicures. And we had an absolute blast! 

Friends are still friends, no matter the distance. We got to pick up our friend Matthew from the airport as he arrived back from the land down under! True friends are never separated by distance. We're very thankful for ours :)

What did you learn last month? What are you learning now?

Normally we don't let our kitties on tables...but the AC was out here, and it was close to the fan...

Welcome to our new home!

Holly: Hey everyone, it's just me today! Kelly is currently day 5 into a 10 day mission trip in Huancayo, Peru! She will tell you all about it once she returns.

I'm on my lunch break right now, and since taking a break outside really isn't much of an option thanks to all the bloody rain we got last night/this morning, I figured I would share a few pictures of our new place. Aside from having to come home to just myself and the kitties every night for the past almost week, I am quite pleased.  We think it's an older building, and it has a few quirks, but again, I am pleased! The location is very ideal- I can make it to work in just under 20 minutes, same will be for Kelly too. It's about 5 minutes away from the first Richmond exit off the interstate, which is where a lot of our Richmond favorites are located.  A little more than 5 minutes the other way, and you're in downtown! We're pretty fortunate! :) Plus, it's QUIET, and it's a beautiful neighborhood! I've been there almost a week and haven't heard a peep from our neighbor, and the only other noise is perhaps a few late-night rabble rousers out hooting and hollering, but that is it! Now if the cats would stop getting into stuff in the middle of the night, I'd be golden.  The unpacking process has been slow, but it'll get done when it gets done.  It's liveable right now, which was my goal from the start.

Anyway, onto the very brief tour.  More pictures to come once more gets unpacked and put away! :)

This is the living room as of Monday evening, so barely 48 hours after everything had been moved in. It's a little small, but it's cozy. This is the view from the bottom of the stairs that lead upstairs.

Living room as of yesterday! A bit more has been unpacked, but not too much has changed, with the exception of some Time Lords and hobbits on the wall :) Notice my two helpers completely unaware they're getting photographed.

Living room from the kitchen view. This still isn't all of it.  Again, small, but cozy.

The kitchen, which is the perfect size, honestly. I was not sold on the border at first but now it's growing on me. I love the cabinet colors too!

The bedrooms aren't pictured yet; there's 2, and they're HUGE. They're also still full of packed-up stuff, so stay tuned! There's also a little patio space (currently occupied with empty boxes and totes), and a little side yard.

So there you have it, folks, our new little humble home! God gave us what we need, even if it isn't necessarily what we wanted at first! In the long run, we'll be saving money, which is always a good thing, and we hope to have people over soon.  If you would like our new address, let me know :)

A Generalized Life Update #2

Kelly: So I've been at my new job gig for a little over a month now, and so far things are going really well. Our patient numbers (census) have been high for a while, which has made things crazy but so far nothing catastrophic or earth-shattering has happened. For the most part everyone has been calm, somewhat happy and haven't made any ridiculous demands. I really enjoy the staff I work with and we all have a good time and love what we do. I really enjoy the patients too, and gone are the days of constantly feeling like walking on eggshells. When working in psych, things were so unpredictable all the time, and you just never knew what may set someone off. So there's that. It's pretty smashing.

Secondly, Holly and I have been in the process of trying to find a house to rent. We can't quite afford swinging to buy one yet, but it's time for a change. We've been at our townhouse for a little over 2 years now, and a series of circumstances have left us ready to go. It's been overall a somewhat frustrating process, in terms of finding a house and making phone calls to prospective rental companies/landlords. We've learned the term "single family" does not apply to twin sisters, which sort of stinks for us. Neither one of us can really afford to live on our own, nor do we want to. We've had a lot of closed doors, but as of today two more prospective options have opened up. I'm not really trying to keep my hopes up, but there's a part of me that is optimistic that one of these two will work out. On the way home after just driving by to look at a neighborhood in where one of them are, we prayed while driving, and soon after came across the number of another house to rent. God is good! I'm going to make a phone call tomorrow to this other house and hopefully things will be in our favor. So that's what's going on in our lives for the time being. Thanks for hanging with us!

Holly: I spent all of last week traveling for work-related events: building two high tunnels and a VISTA training/networking/catching up weekend in Pikeville, KY.  Got to reconnect with a lot of VISTAs from my Atlanta training, and meet some more, all of who are doing some pretty awesome things in northern and eastern Kentucky. Speaking of VISTA, things are going very, very well; I am still really happy there and I'm learning more and more as every week passes.  I have about three and a half months to go until my term ends, and I feel like the second half has just flown by! As for post-VISTA....well, they liked me so much they decided to offer me a full time gig!! Yep, you are totally reading that correctly! :) I've known for quite a while now but have been essentially sworn to secrecy, but I think I've kept it a secret for long enough! I am beyond excited to transition into this new role and I am still blown away at just how much God has worked for good when He called me to do this crazy thing almost a year ago! I don't know any of the logistics yet, but...yeah, there it is!!

Yoda and Wiley (our pet babies) have been with us for three years now.  We still love them to pieces and they still drives us insane.  They've brought us so much joy and have kept us ridiculously entertained.  Neither of us are in relationships still, and we're still ok with that (Although I'm plotting...) And lastly, we're spending Memorial Day weekend in Indiana! You may remember when we went to their wedding almost four years ago! Yep...their little girl is due in July (their first!!!), and we are all BEYOND excited :)

So that's basically it.  Pray God will have His will as we continue to search for a house, and that all will go well for our dear Ashley and her little Nugget :) Thank you all for continuing to journey on this crazy road with us!

And just in case you need a laugh, which I'm sure you could always use one, you can watch this video that Kelly and I can't get enough of!

Cats and children: one and the same?

Holly and Kelly: So it's true. They really are similar. At least we think they are. I mean come on, look at those faces? Aren't they cute?!

So the two of us have conjured some thoughts in which our cats and having children are the same. Not that either of us have children, but we've babysat before and many of our friends are mothers of young children and share their children stories...which we are always delighted to hear about! Having said that, here's some of the things we came up with.

No privacy
If you are a guest in our house, please remember to shut the door. Otherwise you might get a nice lap while you're in the bathroom taking care of things. (Yeah...may be a too much TMI, but it's true). In our house when we want a moment's peace, we shut doors....until the screaming and clawing begins. Until the sweeping of feet under the doors start too.

No personal space
None. At all. Pretty self explanatory. The two of us have had computer notes corrupted by random kitty text, or a sudden lap interruption during that really good part in that book or the running of the cats over the couch, furniture, house, laps, etc, causing the occasional spilled beverage or mild heart attack. Or the sometimes tampering of the book, DVD set, or laptop (See below). Get used to bum in the face and swatting your hair/scarf/necklace/any dangling object within their reach.

Wiley's into the Eppes brothers, too. 

Being awakened all hours of the night

Can't remember when either of us had a night of UNINTERRUPTED sleep. Oh, by the way, ever get the feeling someone's watching you? Yeah, it's probably one of them.

Yelling/disciplining/breaking up fights
"GET OFF THE TABLE!" "STOP IT!" "HEY, KNOCK IT OFF!" "PLEASE STOP BODY SLAMMING EACH OTHER INTO THE FURNITURE!" "NO, YOU'RE NOT GOING IN THE GARAGE!" "BE QUIET!" Kitty discipline in our house involves forced cuddling for at least 2 minutes. They hate it.

The teenage years
Cats exhibit blatant passivity concerning your arriving/departing.
"Oh.............................hi.  See you later.  Let's destroy the house while they're gone."

Traveling
2 options. Either take them with you or find someone to stay at the house and take care of them. Lest we forget the Great Traumatic Move of May 2013.  Completely amazed the cops/animal control/the FBI were not called on us due to the excessive wailing coming from Wiley's cat carrier.  We're fairly certain he did not recover.
One last thing: You definitely cannot make last-minute plans.  "Oh wait, the cats..."

Messes
Litter on the other side of the living room.  Yes...the other side.  Downed Christmas trees.  Poo on the floor.  THE BIRD.  A mini-flood in the kitchen.  You name it.

Food 
You were finished with that, right? Because sticking their faces in water glasses/cleaned off dinner plates is the norm. Yoda especially likes eggs, while Wiley is ga-ga for ham. See "personal space"; dinner sometimes gets uncomfortable. Would you like a set of yellow eyes watching with your bowl of soup? Make that 2 sets of yellow eyes...

There you have it! Yet despite the grievances they sometimes bring us, we love our pet babies and we wouldn't have it any other way! And sometimes we use the good times to our advantage in which we get the opportunity to have a little bit of fun.

Three cheers for H and K!!

Holly: Ach!! That magical all-elusive date has come and gone again!  How time just seems to march right on by.

Yesterday was August 20th, THE THREE YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF OUR BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D YAAAAHHHOOOOOOYAAAAAAYYY!!!

I still can't believe we're chuggin' along, and that we are.  They say "what a difference a year can make" and what a year it has been!  It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating 2 years of this blogosphere of wonder and now here we are again, 3 years strong.  3 years of not running out of stuff to talk about.  Imagine that! So much has happened this year and we still have so much more to look forward to!

I think we're going to keep at it.  In fact, there is no "I think"; we ARE going to keep at it.  Thank you all, once again, for chuggin' along with us.  Here's to many more years!

Kelly: Trying to type this with a kitty on my lap (a Yoda kitty to be more specific) will be most interesting. Like I say every year when this comes up, I never thought it would make it another year. This has been the first full year of our lives we are both working "full time" and neither one of us are in school. It's been fun and awesome and by far the most crazy! Hard to believe how fast the time seems to go, and it feels like this year went by the fastest. But yeah. 3 years. This blog idea was born after the two of us came home from our respective abroad endeavors and decided this would be not only fun for us but a bonding experience too. We have enjoyed coming back to this blog, even though we haven't been able to post as much in a while, but still. This isn't just for us, but all of our readers too. We want this to be a safe place to read our thoughts and to explore your own thoughts on the topic at hand. We don't do this to get it out there and see how many people will follow it in one day, no.

That's one of the great things about this blog and the fact we write it together; there's always something to talk about! Often I see stuff on the news or hear something on the radio and still after all this time tell myself "that would be good to blog about." And we do this too with conversations we have. So there you have it. Three years! Here's to hoping we'll have a four year post next year!

August 20, 2011- date of blog launch

August 20, 2012- one year after blog launch

August 21, 2013- two years and one day after blog launch

Today! August 21, 2014- three years and one day after blog launch.  With Yoda :)

The Bracelet

Holly: Warning: this is not your typical 4th of July post about cook-out food, fireworks, etc.  Although I'm pretty sure I did eat my weight in horrendously unhealthy textbook "fair food", which may or may not have included cheese-smothered fries, kettle corn, and a rough half of a funnel cake and...I'll just stop now.

No, today, this 4th of July post is about this.

So this is a bracelet that bears two words on it: Respect and Honor.  Part of the festivities last night included seeing for KING & COUNTRY in concert.  They're a Christian rock duo from Australia, and they've only been around for a couple of years or so.  I will just say that if you haven't seem them yet, you are missing out.  Those Aussies sure do know how to put on a show!  P.S. For any of you fans into more classic CCM music, they're the brothers of Rebecca St. James.  

Anyway, they had just finished a few songs, and Joel, one of the band members, jhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhcgfv (pardon the Yoda interruption) was talking about relationships, and how they are all important to all the band members.  They're all married.  The point of his message was simple: ladies, do not let ANYONE treat you as second-best; we ought to be treated as the priceless jewels that we are, especially in the eyes of God.  And men ought to treat women with respect and honor.  All the band members wore these bracelets too, in addition to a necklace in the shape of a penny with the word "Priceless" stamped onto it.  He also said that our society has ingrained women to be cheap, as cheap as a penny (that's where the necklaces come in).  Towards the end Joel said "You know what, there's a special someone I'm going to give this to right now."  What happened next I will never forget: He got off the stage, took off the bracelet, and handed it to me.  

Yes.  Me.

And that's the end of the story, guys.  We stood in line and met them again.  I told him I didn't have anything for him to sign, I just wanted to give him a hug and thank him.  So I did.  

Kelly: And of course while this was all going on last night, I was standing beside her ugly crying. Because that's what I do. I ugly cry when something awesome, really happy or sad happens. And last night was awesome. Truly. The end. Probably one of the best 4th of July holidays I've ever had. Not to mention the band MIKESCHAIR opened; let's give them some love too! Turns out I knew more of their songs than I thought. Plus they favorited one of my tweets :) While we waiting in line to meet them (again), I found myself thinking; I was supposed to be at work yesterday. But I put in a day off to see these guys again and missed getting paid time and a half, which means my regular hourly pay plus if I worked a half a day. So quite a bit. But it was totally worth it, and I'd do it again. The last few weeks at work have been incredibly stressful and emotionally draining at times, more than usual. I've been all over the place and have been struggling with fine tuning my purpose in what I'm doing there. Not thinking about leaving by any means, but let's just say I really needed last night. It's not over yet, according to one of their songs. 

I really don't have much to add, but I will close with this. I don't know what's going on in your all's lives right now. But I do hope that this story encouraged you or at least made you smile. That's why we share stories like this, not only for us but for you all too. I hope you remember that in God's eyes you are precious and are more valuable than anything. It's ok to feel discouraged, frustrated, worried and pissed off, but just remember who holds the key to being redeemed from anything that is trying to tear you down. God is good all the time. And remember, there's always hope. 

MIKESCHAIR! They were a great opener! :)

Rest are for KING & COUNTRY.  Enjoy! :) 

Best picture ever! 

Photobombing the concert! :D

We're all singing "Amazing Grace" here, by the light of our phones.  An incredible moment! 

Cheers!! 

Because it ain't the 4th without fireworks! 

Holly with Joel :)

Kelly with Joel :)

Potpurri post #8

Kelly: Realized: we have not done one of these since February. It's a general consensus that we share just some of the things that have been going on in our lives. We put the Christmas tree up a few days ago; Wiley keeps trying to eat it. Ever since we've been at our current house, Yoda does this adorable thing when she smells something unusual; we call it grinning. Last night I got home from work and she grinned after smelling my feet. Twice. Annnnnnnnnnnd....the litter box reeks again. Lovely.

I woke up this morning to a voice mail from my nurse manager, reminding me of a 4 hour medication class I will be attending this Thursday in the morning, on top of working my regularly scheduled shift. The circumstances as to why I am taking that class are of no importance, but yeah. Happy Monday to me....hahaha I'm teasing. I was half expecting a "hey can you come in and work today" voice mail. It was a pretty slow weekend at work; our census is low again, so yay! And now Wiley is trying to climb on my arm; we had a nice cuddle this afternoon when I was watching Titanic. Oh yeah, and I'm giving blood tomorrow. Yippee!! That's about all to report; nothing really on. One last thing; WE'RE GOING TO OHIO FOR THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!! :D

Holly: Did you know that crayfish spit? Yep, I didn't either, until it happened to me today.  Moooving on...

Guess that's a good sign work is going well.  I've been there just a tad over 3 months now, and a sure-fire sign that I'm used to the early mornings is that on weekends, I'm wide awake by 9:30.  Granted, I don't get out of bed until 10ish.  But still.   What I wouldn't give for my college glory days of sleeping in until 11-11:30, sometimes noon.

SMAUG IS COMING IN 25 DAYS!!!!!!!!  It's beginning to get ridiculous how excited we are.

Kelly is now showing me a YouTube hack: Apparently, if you type "1980" after pausing a video it turns into a game sort of thing where you have to protect your video from flying missiles.  Aaannnd, this is probably why we're still single.  hahahahahahaha

One last thing, I reckon: I am super stoked for Thanksgiving.  A week from Wednesday we'll be on the road (well, it's 8:40 at night so hopefully we'll be at home...) in Ohio visiting our mom and dad and brother, and possibly our grandparents.  We haven't been to Ohio in almost a year, and seen our grandparents in over 2.  I know that doesn't seem like a lot of time, but we're a close family.  That's one of the crappy things about growing up; you don't get to see your family that much.  It's funny- working in academia, you look forward to the breaks as much as the students do.

 Please enjoy this picture of Yoda that I just love so much!! :) Hope life is treating you all well. 

Yoda says hello

Get up all "in your face" or just live like Jesus.

Kelly: A few weeks ago, Holly and I touched on the subject on the two greatest commandments that we are to obey as Christians (Here is the post we are referring to). Today's is not necessarily a follow up of that post, but it is something similar, or at least I think it is. xtyz (oops, Yoda got a hold of the keyboard again). I feel though that in light of some recent conversation, comments, the sermon today and whatnot, I am going to throw out a disclaimer right now: the topic at hand we are discussing today has multiple sides, and we acknowledge and are aware of them. However, today, we are choosing to focus on just a few of the sides on this multi-faceted topic of discussion. This morning in Sunday School our discussion was about being more intentional about who we come in contact with. The Scripture we referenced was when Jesus met with the Samaritan Woman. The consensus we reached was that He didn't bump into her on purpose; He knew her story and He knew she'd be there at the time that He was there too. One of the questions that was asked was what are some of the most ineffective ways to tell others about Jesus. I gave the example of someone knocking on your door and getting all in your face, seemingly shouting "excuse me, do you have a moment to talk about Jesus?" or "Hey, I'm here right now to tell you about Jesus!" Now PLEASE do not misunderstand me; I am not against those means of evangelizing. I'm just saying, they have not worked for me. It made me uncomfortable, a bit uneasy, and obliged to initiate a response. Once they left, that was it. There was no room to get to know the actual person. I felt like just another check mark on their list of people to reach. We were then asked what were some of the most effective ways of telling others about Jesus. Holly said just being real with people. I followed up and said that Jesus got into the heart and soul of everyone He met, like Zaccheaus, the Pharisee and the Samaritan Woman. He knew their stories, and if He didn't, He learned them. He didn't intimidate them or scare them. No. He was real with them.

This leads into the next part of my portion. Today's sermon was about respecting humanity. The main point that was driven home was simple: it DOES NOT MATTER where any person, ANY PERSON, has come from, what they look like, who they love, where they're from, we as Christ's body are to give them, ALL of them the love and respect that they not only need but deserve. Did I stutter?

Holly: There was a story about Union Church (a non-denominational church in town) on the news a couple of nights ago.  If there are any of you non-Bereans who are reading this, one of the things that stands out about this church is that right out front there's a very large banner with a rainbow flag that says something to the degree of "ALL are welcome! No kidding! No exceptions!"  We posted the video below- please take the time to watch it if you feel led to do so.

What really gets me (and this was said this morning in the sermon) is that so many of us, including Christians, totally forget or disregard the second part of the greatest commandment, which is "love your neighbor as yourself."  It's simple concepts, really: Show compassion to others.  Treat others the way you want to be treated.  Freaking BE NICE to people.  And yet somewhere along the way the lines get blurred.  I've stated my views on love and acceptance and respect many times before, so I won't share them again.  But one of the ways we do that is by relating to people.  Just sharing life with others!  Being the hands and feet of Jesus by reaching out to those who are already on the outside looking in.  Heck, even those that aren't.  I feel that regular, every day conversations can turn into the spiritual, meaningful ones over time if we relate to people on all areas of their lives.  For me, like Kelly said, that doesn't involve loudly proclaiming "HEY YOU NEED JESUS RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW NO IFS ANDS OR BUTS!"  The truth is, we ALL need Jesus.  There's a quote that says "You may be the only Bible that someone ever reads."  We ought to be sharing messages of love, acceptance, and hope; something this society so desperately needs.  I posted on my Twitter today that the message at Berea Baptist is one that needs to be preached but probably isn't.  Let's live like Jesus with our lives and words.  Let's reach out to ALL people.  No exceptions.  

Union Church story

30 Days of Sherlock: Whatever you like!

Holly: Today is just a free-for-all, so I will post a goofy picture.  Because I like pictures and I like goofy.

Kelly: I was watching The Great Game a few days ago and Yoda was being super squirrely.  She kept getting in the way of the TV so I couldn't see some of it. She then proceeded to jump ONTO the TV and was watching the screen too. I took this picture below and it is timed perfectly! It looks like Sherlock is looking at her. Enjoy!

A Generalized Life Update

Holly: A lot of things have changed for us in a short amount of time.  So here's what's going on.

We have been at our new apartment for about four weeks now.  While it still has its messy places, its boxes of stuff with nowhere to go, and a washer that still needs to be hooked up (any takers?????), we are feeling very at home and happy.  This morning we finally had to turn on the AC after putting it off for a while now...Berea Municipal is scary.....more on that later.  Wiley is contently snoozing on a student hand-me-down armchair and Yoda is....well...somewhere around here, probably getting into some kind of mischief.

A week ago I started a second job, back at University of Kentucky.  It's only part time, and it's only through the summer.  Essentially I play mail clerk and get slides for the pathology department.  It's pretty boring, actually, and the commute is pretty wretched, and I'm still not entirely sure how I feel about it, but the ladies I work with are quite pleasant, so that helps.  I have applied for a position in the biology department there and my application has gone on to the hiring officials, so we will see about that; I'd basically be helping to run UK's biology labs, and it would be full time and NOT temporary.  We shall see.  Just praying that God will show me where to go and what to do.

I still work Old Navy, but on the weekends now.  Even though my UK job is only 3 hours a day, it's a TON of driving in Lexington, and my poor car just doesn't get the gas mileage it used to.  I'm coming up on six months at Old Navy.  Considering earlier posts I ranted and raved about quitting...well, it's just amazing what can happen and how God can use you.  I really love working there.  I've become friends with some pretty awesome people there too.

Life is pretty good, peeps.  Pretty darn good.  :)

Kelly: I've been out of college for almost four weeks now...WOW!!! That is crazy for me, and it still hits me at random at times. Like...whoa, I'm not a college kid anymore. But I've got some great news to share as well! Earlier this month, I scheduled to take the boards (NCLEX). I currently hold a provisional RN license, which means that I can still work, but I have to be supervised by an RN or ARNP until I pass the boards and become an RN. Well, I took the boards yesterday! It was intense and it took me over 2 and a half hours to answer 202 questions! I got my results this morning and I PASSED! I'm now a Registered Nurse, so maybe I'll just start signing my name Kelly Korb, RN, BSN! ^_^

BUT...I still don't have a job yet! :( There haven't been any new openings in a few places, so for now I'm on a standstill. I plan on making some phone calls today to some jobs I applied back in March, so we'll see! Several applications have been referred rather quickly, so that's good news! It's just a matter of time I suppose, but I'm looking and applying to at least one job every day. If not applying I look every day! I'm just praying that God will open something up for me. Maybe He just wanted me to pass the boards first. :)

30 Days of Writing: Your Fears

Kelly: The kind of world/society generations younger than me will have to endure and go through.

Being stagnant in my relationship with God.

Finding a job, not liking it but staying with it to make money, end up miserable and "stuck" in such job.

The thought of Yoda/Wiley accidentally getting out and not coming back. :(

Holly: Stagnancy in general

That I won't find a job in my field

When I come to the end of my Earthly life, that even though I did my best, that God will be disappointed in me

The kind of world/society my kids/grandkids will have to see

The kind of world/society that we already see

People being disappointed in me

Being stranded in downtown Lexington (don't judge me on this one...have you been to downtown Lexington??)

Falling

30 Days of Writing: Your Family

Holly and Kelly: For today's post, we thought a combined one would be easier. We'll start off with our blood family; our parents and our older brother. We were born and raised in southeastern Ohio in the town of Athens. We lived in the same house our entire lives; never moved until we came to Kentucky to start college. That was in 2008, and we haven't left Kentucky since! Since last May, Holly and I have created our own little family in our own place since last May. It's been an incredible journey; developing the skills necessary to live with each other and maintain our sanity, as well as our budget. Prior to that, we had lived on campus as Berea students, and I think that REALLY helped us grow up and live within our means. Granted, it has not been easy, but the thought of being on our own doesn't terrify us anymore, and being away from home had a big role to play. Of course we missed mom and dad, but I think it's something every child should do for college...just my opinion. 

Anyway, our current apartment came with Wiley. His previous owner couldn't keep him because all of her family was allergic, and she was just going to take him to a shelter. We of course decided to keep him. A few weeks later we adopted Yoda. Yoda came from a former professor Holly and I both had. She was scared of everything for the first few days we had her, but she warmed up to us and has wormed her way into our hearts. We absolutely love our pet babies! But soon, we will be packing up our family and moving yet again. Not out of Berea, just across town. More space, costing a bit more, but we'll be with a dear friend of ours until she graduates in the summer. It's going to be a bit scary at first, but we are excited to see where this journey will take us !

And last but not least, Holly and I thought it would be important for us to mention another edition to our family: our church family. I first attended Berea Baptist in August of 2008. My friend Tim and I made the trek, and I fell in love instantly! I dragged Holly with me the following week, and she too fell in love. And we've been there ever since; we officially became members in May of 2009. We've since then joined the choir, fostered some wonderful relationships and have greatly improved our relationship with God. We are truly happy and blessed to have such a large family, both blood related and Christ related. Thank you all for being a wonderful family. We love you all!

Our wonderful parents! They raised us to love others, ourselves and so many more lessons! 

We of course can't forget miss Nala. :) 

Our first home! 

Wiley. He's a sweet boy :) 

Miss Yoda. She likes Tolkien too! 

Berea College from above...became our home away from home! :) Came here 5 years ago and haven't left yet!

Church choir family. This pic is so old, but captures us well.  We love them all dearly!  God has greatly blessed us with such a wonderful church family! :)

An Unexpected Adventure (18 months in the making...)

Holly: We have committed the date September 27, 2014 to our memory.  No, we'll both be graduated by then.  No, it's not our prospective wedding dates.  It's not another failed-predicted apocalypse, the inauguration of a new president, the starting date of a new job, or even our 24th birthday.

It's this! 

Yes, you are reading this correctly: an entire weekend full of Lord of the Rings enthusiasts, exhibits, frivolity, fun, food, laughter, relationship-building, autumn goodness...all literally a stone's throw away from our very home.    Since we are a bit financially strapped to partake in the entire weekend party, we have simply opted for a day pass; regardless, it certainly isn't hampering our enthusiasm any less!

Our registration has already gone through and been received, planning is already under way, we have until the 1st of September (of 2014) to make our payments (at just $30, I mean helloooooooooo??!?! Are you kidding me??!), and we are beyond excited!  BEYOND. Excited!  We are on the cusp of something we can't even imagine.  We are going to meet so many incredible, amazing, inspiring people, all from vastly different walks of life, heck, all from different parts of the country!  All sharing in this one thing, this one magical, beautiful thing.

I think even Tolkien himself would be proud!  :)

ikgfvuyh (Yoda agrees)

Kelly: It's funny that this happened. We were thinking of going to New York or another American city that is doing a premiere of the last movie. Not that we've completely ruled that out, but now we have something that is set in stone and definitely going to happen! I was so worried (and still am) that I was going to forget that this was happening. I'm thinking oh my gosh that's over a year away! I don't even know what kind of work I'm going to be doing, where I'll be living, whatever! So many unknowns. I did save my registration email though...just in case my big cracked brain lets it slip through.

I don't really know what to expect out of this. A jolly good time for sure. I hope that I meet a lot of awesome people who geek out on this too! My hope is though that even though this is very VERY exciting that I would not let it drive me. That I wouldn't be so obsessed and fixated on the fact that this is really happening that I lose focus. That I can concentrate on the now and what I need to do now, like GRADUATE...ahem. 2 months tomorrow!!!!!!! But once I get over that hump I can start to focus on those things. Taking it one day at a time...but I am really excited about this! And it'll be in the fall, the colors will be changing and the weather hopefully won't be too crazy. But yeah. It's coming! Super super excited!!!!

"Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame." -2012 in review

Kelly: Great quote by a great individual. Starting tomorrow is 2013. WOW!!! It is amazing to me how fast this year has gone by! So many wonderful blessings have been achieved by this year that I can't even begin to comprehend. Moving into our own place, falling in love with 2 of the greatest kitty cats in the world (just a bit biased), getting introduced to Sherlock and LOTR, and for me, being one more semester closer to graduating with a BSN degree!!!!! May 5 is the day! Almost four months to go.

Now normally, next would follow a list of cookie-cutter resolutions, such as I want to lose weight, get closer to God, save my money, etc. I'm not doing that for 2013. I have resolved to not make any resolutions. Instead of resolving, I am going to ENJOY. Enjoy what God has given to me, how He has blessed me and I am going to enjoy growing in Him more as a follower instead of merely a fan. I'm going to enjoy being healthier, because I am healthier, but I'm going to enjoy a treat every now and then and not feel guilty about it. I'm going to enjoy my last semester as an undergraduate and not just seek the end result which is to walk across a stage for 10 seconds, shake Dr. Roelof's hand and have him give me my degree. No. I'm going to do my best to enjoy my last semester and take advantage of every opportunity to be joyful and to thank God for His joy that comes through knowing Him.

I'm ready. I'm ready for what 2013 has in store for me. Though I'm not entirely sure what it will bring, I am prepared for whatever may come my way, good or bad. If the good comes, I will do my best to give credit where it is due. If bad comes my way, I will do my best to not run from the situation but instead face it and rely on God and my own strength to get through it. I refuse to be stagnant, go through the motions and blame others for my own wrong doings. I will be responsible for my words and my actions. But most importantly I will continue to grow as the daughter in Christ I am destined to be. How will I do that? I don't know yet, but He knows. And I have resolved to give everything to Him. Ready or not 2013, here I come!

Holly: We have come to the end of another year.  I think this one has gone faster than any I can remember in a long time.  When I started out the year I was still in school.  Since then I've graduated, gotten my degree, bid "see you later" to some pretty amazing people, moved out on my own, had a couple "real" jobs.

I did note some resolutions at the beginning of the year.  I honestly don't remember them (all except 1...ask me about it, it will give you a good laugh! lol).  I could do that now, but like Kelly, I'm not going to.  Instead, like her, I'm going to enjoy LIFE!!!  I'm going to smile, laugh, cry, be enthralled, swept away, mesmerized, scared, worried.  I'm going to make time for my friends, both near and far.  Saying "please", "thank you", and "I love you" go SO far!  There are people in my life who have inspired me, challenged me, in numerous ways...I want to tell them!  I'm going to read an ACTUAL book!  Or several, Lord willing.  I'm going to thank God every day for what I have and ask for His mercy to shower those who are not as fortunate as I am.  I'm going to wait with bated breath for the return of Sherlock and our first glimpse at Smaug.  I have several potential job opportunities awaiting me even as I type this; I'm going to get my bearings, investigate, and move forward, always seeking God's will.  I don't know if that includes Old Navy.  We will just see.  Most importantly, I'm going to do my absolute best to live like Christ.

I honestly don't know what awaits me in 2013.  Maybe I'll get a job I could have never imagined...or there's one waiting for me right now and I just don't know it yet.  Maybe I'll meet my future husband.  Who knows? But I'm 22, I'm still young and eager for life!  2012 was such a great year for me; 2013 can only get better! :)

I hope that all of you who read this are able to look back at 2012 with smiles, laughter, and even perhaps a few tears.  In 2013 I hope that if you are weak, you will look to those you love for strength.  I hope that if you are weary, tired, that you will get rest.  I hope that if you have been in the despairing shadow of unemployment, opportunity will come.  I hope that if you have been faced with some difficult circumstances, that you will summon your inner strength to accept them with grace and move on.

Be safe, everyone.  Thank you for an amazing year.  See you all when the ball drops.  :)

A little bit of Jesus, Lord of the Rings (namely Pip), and Yoda

Kelly: Yoda is sitting on my lap as I start this, so don't be surprised if she makes a surprise guest note in this post. gvkb,dey h (yep, that was her). She's gone now so I will proceed. Anyway, this blog post is about a rather interesting conversation Holly and I had earlier today. It's another reason why we absolutely love being twins!!!!! She just started the Return of the King and was talking to me about it (she'll give you her take during her part). But we were just talking about different parts in the books, the friendships that were built and destroyed and how everyone was there for each other. I think what I really enjoyed about this series was how genuine it was. Think about it; EVERYONE carries some sort of burden, or Ring throughout their lives. They choose to either tarry through it alone or choose close friends to help them along. Though the close friends cannot carry the burden, they can carry the goer through. Like Frodo and Sam and their journey to Mordor. Many of times Sam noticed "Mr. Frodo, just let me carry the Ring for a while." But no matter how many times he persisted, Frodo insisted that the burden was his to carry but Sam was more than welcome to come with him on the journey.

Anyway, I was just thinking about Jesus. Ok, try to follow me. Jesus had a mission the minute He was born. He had 12 disciples that went on the mission field with him. They started out together and eventually broke off to carry out the mission field in their own lands. Like Frodo, he too was on a journey that he did not find out till much later in his life. The Fellowship went along on the journey, and circumstances broke them apart and the journeys continued for peace in Middle Earth. It was something about this book series that I had never really thought about. Perhaps it was the reason I was so drawn to it and it just sucked me in, sort of like my relationship with Christ. When I discover something new about Christ in my life, it sucks me in and I can't let go. And like Frodo, we as Christians are all on a journey that never has an end, even after our time on Earth is through. So yeah. That's my spiel. And I started The Hobbit yesterday and I am IN LOVE. As I posted on my facebook, Peter Jackson cast the PERFECT Bilbo. 135 (give or take) days till opening night!!!

Holly: I fail to come up with clever titles on demand.  So take it or leave it.  :P

I have to admit that I've struggled with reading all these books.  I feel like I'm going through them SLOWLY (it took me almost 2 weeks to finish "Fellowship").  Just feel like it dragged, I suppose.  Anyway, I started "Return of the King" this morning at work and I am already 112 pages in, which intentions of reading more before I go to bed.  Kelly warned me that this book had a dark tone to it.

She wasn't joking.  Now let me tell you that when I get into something I get into it A LOT.  I've read plenty of books in my days, but I am not exaggerating when I tell you that I have never been so enthralled or my emotions evoked so strongly in a book, until today.  Yes, this even tops Dumbledore.  That darkness Kelly mentioned...I could feel it as I read on.  My heart literally ached for my Hobbit friends (I am in love with the Hobbits, sorry!  Merry and Pippin now...Frodo and Sam don't come in until later).  Here's Pippin, with Gandalf, separated from his best friend Merry, wondering about him and where he is.  Meanwhile, here's Merry, with strangers, wondering about Pippin, where he is, wondering about Sam and Frodo, heck, not even sure if they're alive at this point.....I had to put it down for a bit.  I don't know how Tolkien did it, but he did and he did it well.

Now Pippin.....earlier today Catherine (our Tolkien/Ringer roommate who we have to thank for introducing us to the series at all) asked who our favorite LoTR character is.  At the current time I am really enjoying Pippin's character development.  Essentially he starts out as a wide-eyed, slighly naive child and now he's an esteemed part of Gondor, basically a right-hand to the King and having to make crucial decisions for someone in power.  Of course he still longs for the Shire comforts, but now he is more aware of the impending danger lurking and what his part to play is.  Where I am in my life I can easily relate to him.

One more quick note...bit of a coincidence (?)...I just noticed that Jesus was around 33 years old when he was crucified.  Hobbits come of age at 33.  Do you have some explaining to do, Tolkien? I think not.  :)

Pippin (R)...has a lot of growing up to do and does so beautifully! :)

The Five Things You Meet in Sunday School

Holly: Trying to make a Mitch Albom reference...ha. ha. ha. *cricket cricket*

So if any of you don't know who Andy Stanley is, I suggest you remedy that asap.  He is awesome!  We started a new lesson from him in Sunday school this morning, it's called "Five Things God Uses to Grow Your Faith".  I was sold, I kept thinking hey, I like big faith, I want my faith to blow up, as he kept referring to.  Anyway, Andy Stanley told of five things that either show up when your faith is about to change, or somewhere in your life story, one (or all) of these five things show up.  Disclaimer: these aren't biblical, and they might not all apply to you.  But here's how they apply to Kelly and I.

1. Practical teaching (i.e. Biblical teac. , l  mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm (sorry, Yoda decided to attempt to nap on my keyboard.  She says hello).

Let's try this again:

1. Practical Biblical teaching: So, unlike many other Christians that I have come to know in my 22 years, I didn't grow up in church.  I don't even remember when I got my first Bible or first got excited and on fire for digging into the word.  But this one I have in particular sticks with me: I was about to go on our Nicaragua mission trip, I was almost 18, I had no clue what to expect.  But I remember one Wednesday night after youth group our youth group leader passed out Bibles at the end.  They were light blue with brown dots on them.  I dug into that Bible, and to this day it's flimsy, the spine is worn, the binding is worn, and it's highlighted, written in.  In a sense, it's loved.  I don't use it much anymore.  Now I use my pocket NLT Bible, which, much like my spotty Bible, is worn, highlighted, written in, etc.  Which is a good thing, I suppose.  :)

2. Providential relationships: This one is going to be HUGE for me.  I can't even begin to count the number of people who have influenced me and my faith, good or bad.  But for time's sake, a couple of people stick out to me.  The first would be my academic adviser/boss I had last semester.  I'll make a series of long stories very, very short and just say that he's been through A LOT.  But what he taught me the most was the practice...and power...of presence.  Just being there.  Being his class teaching assistant, I was basically his right hand person, meaning I spent a lot of time with him.  As he was dealing with all the stuff going on, I began to become more aware, just aware of where I was and what I was able to do to lessen his work load.  He later did confess to myself and the other student I worked with that us being there, helping him out, really did make him feel better during his rough days.

The second person that was a faith pusher for me was my pastor.  I've known him for almost four years now, and what I love the most about him (other than his smashing sense of humor, which is going to humiliate his daughter in the future...lol!) is that as he preaches, he isn't just speaking to the congregation on a pedestal; he's speaking to himself.  That levity and humility is so refreshing....and so rare too!  A true, faith-fueled example of practicing what you preach.

3. Private disciplines: In 2009 during college I started journaling again.  To God.  I can now use my journals and flip back to those dark times and see how God worked in those situations.  It's SO encouraging!  I highly recommend journaling; it's tangible prayer to me! I feel closest to God when it's just me, Him, and my pen and paper.

4. Personal ministry: As I mentioned in the first thing, in 2008 I felt led to go on a mission trip to NIcaragua.  My church had gone about 18 months beforehand and I declined that trip.  But something was telling me to go on this one.  And it's so cliche, but it really did change my life!  I saw the love of God explode in ways I had never seen before.  It was amazing!  And although I did stray and eventually rededicate my faith during my sophomore year of college, those memories, people, events on that small ranch in Nicaragua had a huge impact on me.  I hope one day to attend more mission trips.

5. Pivotal circumstances: Oh man, WHERE do I even start?!  I'd say an obvious one was when I first came to Berea.  Coming to Berea gave me new relationships, a church family and home, led me to rededicate my faith, challenged me, saw me at my best and at my worst.  I can say without a doubt that Berea strengthened my faith and it continues to do so, even though I have graduated!

Losing a friend almost seven years ago has spoken volume to my faith too.  For a while I was really pissed at God, which I think led me to stray for a while.  He had just become a Christian, and then bam, killed in a car accident just like that! How could God do something like that?  The biggest lesson I learned, other than overwhelming forgiveness from God and from myself, is that time is short, and the world is our mission field! How will we be remembered?

These are just a few things on my mind and heart, and I'm greatly looking forward to where this study is going to take me and my faith!

Kelly: Wait...how much time do I have??????

To sit here and make a laundry list of each one would be pointless in my opinion. Also for the sake of time, which is running short since we have to head out soon, I will keep my part of this simple. I remember sitting in Sunday School and as each part was listed, I was thinking "oh yeah, and in this part of my life was that one, and this part of my life was that one" and so on and so forth. But the one that got to me the most was the last one; pivotal circumstances. There have been several, and I mean several as large as they get, circumstances in my life where in my opinion there was no way out but God. Ok...not like THAT, but to the point where I felt I had exacerbated all other resources with still no outcome. Most of the pivotal circumstances I am thinking about were times when I really felt I was at my wit's end. So I cried out to God in hopes that He would throw me a rope. But now that I look back I realized the rope was already there and I had used my own scissors to cut it.

Anyway, the point is, I too am looking forward to see where this study will take me in my walk with Christ. Just remembering the little things in life is already blowing my faith up. It really is cliche; if you can thank and appreciate God for the little things, you will be more willing and submissive to the larger things in life. Those larger things when you look back and you can say to yourself "yes. That was God and nothing else." And then I remember going to New Orleans. I was hesitant about going at first, mostly because of the big elephant in the corner we often call money in this day and age. I remember praying that if God wanted me to go on this trip that He would provide. (STORY TIME). I had raised almost all the funds except for about $60 when I was thinking I would have to pull my name off the list. I was still working as a tour guide and had just finished a tour. Earlier in the tour I had explained to my tourist group that I belonged to BCM and was getting ready to leave for a mission trip. At the end, one of the ladies pulled me aside, commended my work in Christ, and handed me $40. The rest is history. Truly a life-changing trip...and place.

That was a little over 2 years ago when I went on that trip. Many more circumstances have blown my faith up, and every day I am finding something about my faith in Christ that blows me up with joy! Who would have thunk it that something as simple as changing your daily thinking could be so radical in the way we live as Christians? Again, who would have thunk it? A lot of the things on the list Holly made I can connect to, but I also have a few things of my own that I will probably mention in the privacy of my own thoughts and God tonight. In the meantime, as this study continues, my goal is to think of my own ways to blow up my faith. And my hope is that it isn't something radical and life-changing, rather something as simple as waking up in the morning or just trying to get through the day. Being a Christian isn't easy, mind you. It's full of choices. You can choose to walk with God or not...at least that's what I believe. You can let your faith in God blow up or grow up. I'm trying to grow up in Christ. What about you?

Potpurri post #3

Kelly: Cut myself shaving seven times tonight. UGH!!! This is going to be a very...very long summer. I'm already 2 weeks into my summer class and it's been somewhat interesting so far. I'll just be happier when that class is over and all I have to do is work. I plan on doing lots of reading, so if there are any book suggestions please let me know. I have a few that I would like to read; My Utmost for His Highest, Heaven is for Real, The Reason for God and the Case for Christ just to name a few. In the meantime, I will FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS!

Yoda has been with us for a week yesterday. It's amazing to me how far she has come since last Friday. When we brought her home, she didn't leave her cat carrier for a few hours. We were getting pretty worried, until she came out and started exploring. Wiley wasn't too pleased; he hissed and tried to attack her on a few separate occasions. Poor Yoda was banished in the downstairs bathroom when we had to leave. Within two days she was wandering around like she owned the place, and she and Wiley are buddies now! They run around and play, lick each other, but still haven't slept together. As I write this she is sleeping beside me on the arm rest of the chair. She's become quite the cuddle bunny. Still trying to work on leaving us alone while we sleep. The both of them try to come in the room; we have blankets in front of our bedroom door. That reminds me...I'll have to post some apartment pictures later for those of you who haven't seen them yet. That's about all for now. Really not much has gone on...Holly and I have been struggling to find something to blog about. Thanks for sticking with us though!

Holly: Kelly and I have been on a bit of an ER kick for about a month now.  Great show if you've never seen it before.  I'm a big Dr. Carter fan...have been for ages.  I just love his storylines and his character (next blog topic, sis???).  Right now I'm on Stumbleupon.  I still haven't "started" my job yet...silly HR still needs to get me into the system and make me a UK email address/web account so I can finish online orientation classes and thus start my job.

sldhfksjdflskdjflsasdkjfla

I'm currently reading from a new author: Patricia Briggs.  Recommended by my adviser last semester, it's a fantasy type series, but some are set in modern times.  Sort of like Harry Potter.  Sort of.  I've only read one book but I'm almost finished with it and I like it.  We shall see how the rest go.  Our neighbor's dogs are barking.  Our other neighbor across the street has a bajillion-year-old Mustang that he insists upon starting up at about 5 in the morning every morning, only it takes about six or seven times to actually get the car started before it leaves.  And it's not the quietest of cars either.

We're also working our way through the Harry Potter movies; just finished Prisoner of Azkaban tonight.  My favorite, personally: I love Professor Lupin and I think it follows the book the best.  I've also picked up knitting again for the first time in almost a year.  Yay.  :)

Back to stumbling.  Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend all!!!! <3

And Yoda makes five. With a job!

Holly: As I write this, Kelly, Catherine (apartment-mate) and I are observing our new addition get familiar with her surroundings.  Yes, we brought home Yoda today.  She's almost a year old and she's black and white.  And an absolute doll!  She likes to knead the carpet...and everything else, for that matter.  Already purring and rubbing up on stuff.  Considering she's been here for almost six hours and she just woke up from a "shock" nap not half an hour ago.  By "shock" nap, I mean that she slept in her carrier for the majority of the afternoon.  Kelly and I were worried for a bit.  But all seems to be going ok now. 

Wiley, on the other hand, is not pleased, as to be expected.  He hasn't gone after her yet, but he hisses and meows every time he sees her.  Hopefully he'll come around, but until then, we're supervising all felines very closely. 

In other unrelated news, after many applications and countless prayers, I GOT A JOB!!!!!!!  Yes, I received the phone call this morning at about 11 and I have been on cloud 9999999999 ever since!  What I'll be doing is working with a lab group on Alzheimer's research: performing behavioral and cognition tests on aging Beagles.  Beagles are being used as the model system because they share identical brain aging patterns with that of humans.  I'll update more once I actually start...which is sometime next week, after bureaucratic paperwork doing on Monday.  Weeee!!!

Kelly: And now she's behind the TV stand. Ok...yep. Typical cat. We're hoping that the hissy fits (no pun intended) will cease soon. Soon as in by the end of the weekend so we can go to class/work and not worry all day. Wiley is upstairs in my and Holly's room, sitting in the back corner. He's pouting. But every time I start petting him he purrs. He'll get over it.

Here comes Wiley...let the hissing continue. Or stop hopefully. As I often say, this too shall pass. In the meantime, I endured a pretty crazy day at work. Crazy as in long. As part of Berea's sealed deal, all students have to work. I looked and LOOKED for jobs, but could only find one in housekeeping. And my friend got the job for me. At first I was bitter about it because I was going to be working a crappy job with crappy hours doing stuff I already do at home. But really.......it's not that bad. In fact, even after only a week I have learned a lot about myself and what I can handle. Granted my achy joints are angry, but I'm hoping with more time my body will learn to adjust to being on my feet for a very VERY long time. Yoda is now fast asleep, wedged behind the TV stand. None of us have the heart to move her. It's her place now too. We will post pictures and such of her once she (and we) get more settled.