Best Christmas Song Ever

Welcome To Our World
by: Chris Rice


Tears are falling, hearts are breaking
How we need to hear from God
You've been promised, we've been waiting
Welcome Holy Child
Welcome Holy Child

Hope that you don't mind our manger
How I wish we would have known
But long awaited Holy Stranger
Make yourself at home
Please make yourself at home

Bring your peace into our violence
Bid our hungry souls be filled
Word now breaking Heaven's silence
Welcome to our world
Welcome to our world

Fragile finger sent to heal us
Tender brow prepared for thorns
Tiny heart whose blood will save us
Unto us is born
Unto us is born

So wrap our injured flesh around You
Breathe our air and walk our sod
Rob our sin and make us holy
Perfect Son of God
Perfect Son of God
Welcome to our world

Real Life Conversation Between Jason and Kelly

Kelly: "If I EVER get these stupid bangs to grow out, and then start talking about
cutting them back in, threaten me with divorce!"

Jason *rolls his eyes* "whatever babe"

Adventures of a Makeup Artist

I know it has been a while since I've posted. I've started to post at least 10 or 12 times but have failed each time because I'm hard pressed to put into words what I've been up to. On the surface, it's really very simple. I'm a cosmetics analyst at a counter in a local department store. I really like the line I sell for, and people stop by my counter and I help them find the right foundation or blush or lipstick or any number of items available. I was handed a fist full of brushes my first day and told "You are now a makeup artist." I clutched the brushes with a death grip and thought "Funny I don't feel like an artist." I'm doing good to get my own eyeliner on straight much less anyone else's. But that day began what I am convinced will be one of the most interesting journeys of my life. And here is why:

Much like a hair dresser, when you sit in front of a stranger and trust them to make you look beautiful and NOT like a crazy person that went bizerck at the cosmetics counter, you are in the moment, extremely vulnerable. And vulnerable people talk. "Can you do anything to hide this acne? I hate even going out in public." "I have a big date tonight..." "My husband likes this (insert actress name.) Can you make me look like her?" "I hate my (insert feature)" "I wish my lips were bigger" "I wish my lips were smaller" And on and on. But what is interesting is the stories that come after these statements. The insecurities they've struggled with their whole life. I assure you it is rarely the beautiful and polished that sit down for a make over. It's the women who hopes she can be pretty if only she knew how to better apply some magical potion or formula. But here is the thing.....they are all so beautiful. They just have never believed anyone who tried to tell them that. They don't see that their smaller lips fit perfectly with their huge and too beautiful eyes. They don't see that their nose is actually very cute and gives them a child like look of innocence even though they are well into their 30's. They don't see that their fair skin is so beautiful, they look like a living porcelain doll. They don't understand that they could go out on their date, without a stitch of makeup, and knock any guy straight on his back that wasn't considered legally blind. I see so many beautiful creations and yet so many of them are unable to say "I am beautiful"

So this phenomenon has me thinking. Would it have broken Picasso's heart if suddenly his paintings had said to him "Um, I really don't like how large my nose is. Do you think you could make it a little smaller?" "Are you sure my forehead is supposed to be that big?" Does it breaks God's heart when I stand in front of a mirror and pick myself into so many small pieces that there is nothing left but a shredded masterpiece?

I have so wanted to tell these women...."ARE YOU INSANE? CAN'T YOU SEE YOURSELF CLEARLY. FROM WHERE I'M STANDING YOU LOOK AMAZING." And yes I can show you a really cool eyeshadow palette that will draw attention to your amazing eyes. The eyeshadow didn't suddenly make your eyes WOW. They were WOW to begin with. Yes, a little liner will make your small lips look a little less small, but they were pretty to begin with. So many women walk away feeling great...which is a lot of fun to be a part of. But the cosmetics didn't make them suddenly pretty. And that's what we fail to see. There is nothing magical at my counter. Just some cool toys that are fun to play with, yet do nothing but enhance what a master creator already so perfectly designed.

And now my favorite story; "Yes, I can show you how to hide your acne." And just 15 short minutes latter I handed her a mirror and her eyes watered up. So did mine. She walked over to her husband, waiting so patiently at a bench, and his eyes lit up. "You look HOT," he told her. Her face lit up even more. He loved her so obviously and I felt a little awkward observing this moment between them. I hope she knows that she was beautiful to begin with. I hope she can see in his eyes what I saw in his eyes, before all the makeup.

So this is not a rant against cosmetics. If you could see my bathroom right now you would know what a huge fan of cosmetics I really am. They are FUN. It's FUN to put on different looks, different colors. You should have seen me on Halloween. Black eyeshadow, whitest foundation I could find and blood red lips. TONS of FUN. (And yes, people did still stop at my counter that night) But these things are not what make us beautiful, and I hope that we can get to the point where we don't need them to feel beautiful. God, let us see ourselves through your eyes!

I hope I can get to the point where I don't need makeup to feel beautiful. God let me see myself through your eyes.

There is a name for it!!!!

Ok, you know how you feel better about yourself when suddenly there is a name given to the characteristics about yourself that you don't like...it's not that there is a defincency in my character....I have a disorder! It's not that I have the attention span of a gnat if you're not talking about something I like, I have restless leg sydrome!!! Well, I am so excited to find a name for something that has bugged me about myself for a while now. I have so wanted to be a vegetarian for about two years, after my eyes were opened to how horriably commercial farm animals are treated. I tried and was successful for a short time, but again my resltess leg syndrom kicked in and I was unable to stick with it. I make as many vegetarian dinners as I can and I try to buy cage free eggs ect, but secretly I have felt like a huge failure...a weakling for quite a while now. (In the area of vegetarianism that is) Well I found out...I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE. And it turns out, I'm not weak at all....I'm a flexitarian!!! Here's a link to the article to prove it!

http://www.newsweek.com/id/161559?GT1=43001

Life in Bryan according to Lil' Kelly

For those of you who may be wondering, I have not fallen off the face of the earth! I've officially been here in Texas for two weeks and I must say.....I'm home!! I'm amongst my people and I love it. Everyone here is so nice. Exhibit A: I was standing in Home Depot staring at the screw & wall mount display completely exasperated because I had no idea what I needed. The nice man standing next to me (not employed by Home Depot) asked if he could help me and he did! And that sort of thing happens everywhere...people talk to you just because you're there...it's great!! I love it! And I do not have the thickest accent here by far...YEA ME!!

So in the past two weeks I've spent a large part of my time SLEEPING!! I had no idea I was so tiered. I swear, if I sat still for more than 10 minutes I was out. The dark circles under my eyes are greatly improved. I've been letting myself sleep because I figure I needed it....good bye stress...hello bright eyes!!

I've also been searching for a job...I'll let you know when that turns into anything. I've been practicing my Nanny gig which will start officially next Friday I think. I watch my friend's 4 month old. Easily the coolest baby I've ever met. She so easy going it's insane. She makes really funny faces at me when I do something wrong (Taking baby clothes off is hard ya'll) but that's it. She hardly ever cries...so easy. I tell her all the time "thank you for being so easy" I think it will be fun to hang out with her a couple of mornings a week. Her older sister is AWESOME!!! Nowhere near as easy, but she is very smart and dramatic....I think she's an artist in the making. She sings a lot too so of course I immediatly loved her!

So when I'm not sleeping,nanning, or job hunting, I've been getting back in touch with the artist in me! I've discovered a couple of things I want to share with you all... (you know how I love to get people addicted to the same stuff I'm addicted to!) In random order:

New Favorite Band: Breaking Benjamin....love their sound!!! I'm back in a rock phase and I stumbled upon them on You Tube of all things. Their song "Dance with the Devil" is great!!

New Obsession: The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer...and I do mean obsessed. I bought the first book in the series for my drive here....It was AWESOME!!! She's kinda like J.K. Rowling in that the story is in the fantasy world and it's about younger people. But just like Harry Potter, it's so well done that adults can really enjoy the books too and she has been very successful in the crossover. All I can say is I have NEVER (and this is someone who is at B&N at midnight on Harry Potter release night) been so enraptured by two charecters in my life. I went through the entire series is a little over a week....and that is 4 very long novels. So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, if you enjoy fiction at all, try out Twilight. Granted, it's an easy read, it won't inspire you to greatness but it is soooooooo good!!

Interesting Movies I've found: I think Michael & Tamara will really enjoy these, so let that be a warning to those of you who know them. 1st place- Smart People. It has Sara Jessica Parker and the girl from Juno in it. It's great. I loved it.

2nd- Gosford Park (spelling?) It is also great. It has a huge cast including Clive Owen...swoon.

3rd/4th tie- Everything is Illuminated and Little Miss Sunshine. These I actually found while living with Matt & Tamara...Thank you for the introduction guys!

Good gracious this is turning into a novel itself. I'll bring you more of my discoveries soon!

Just Checking In

Hey Guys!!!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I got here...I'm in Texas!!! The drive was pretty uneventful, minus the rain that started in Santa Rosa & didn't stop until I was almost in Waco!! Oh, and I left so eary Saturday morning that Starbucks wasn't opened & I didn't come across another one until 1:00pm...that's right, I didn't get my get my coffee until 1:00!!!

I really love my apartment. I'll post pics later, I'm still trying to get it all put together. But it has rained here almost four days straight. I've seen more rain here in 4 days than I did in 4 years in Albuquerque. So I'm a little stir crazy....however, I discovered a series of audio books so I'm keeping myself busy with them.

Well I must go for now...more boxes to unpack!

Celebrity Collage by MyHeritage

HA! Can I just say, I WISH!!! But still it was fun and I thought you guys might enjoy it....still laughing......

Jason is in the Royal Family of Nerds!!!

Blame the test, not me!!! Here is Jason's Nerd Test score. We had a huge laugh over this and again, he gave me permission to post this! Let us know where you are on the Nerd paradigm. (If you click on my test below, it will link you to the online test)

Are You a Nerd?

I stumbled upon this on Tamara's blog....This is one of many reason I married a computer engineer! (I scored higher than only 1% of the test takers in the area of computer/technology knowledge) Now, someone find me a fashion quiz!!

WARNING: DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME!!!!!

For those of you who might be tempted to go see WANTED because it looks like it might be good....don't fall for the lie...it's horrible! I know it has Angelina Jolie in it (Hey, I'm a huge fan) and Morgan Freeman (huge fan again) and the previews show really awesome scenes with curving bullets and drifting Dodge Vipers (Could not be a bigger fan if I tried) I cannot emphasize how AWFUL this movie is. Warning: Movie details discussed....read no further if you plan to see it. First, it goes into disgusting detail when people are shot in the head and I'll leave that to your imagination. I guarantee the movie is still worse. Second, it has all these scenes with hug slabs of meat hanging in the background...GROSS (just affirmed my move toward vegetarianism) and in one scene you wish it was just an animal hanging there. Second, the language is atrocious. And this is coming from someone who isn't toooooo terribly prudish about that kind of thing. If I brave a rated R action movie, I figure I've asked for it. But this one was just full of stupid and unnecessary cussing. (Not that I'm suggesting any cussing is smart or necessary but there is a line where it just becomes ridiculous and this movie flies right past it.) Oh yea, and it's just dumb. Sure there is a nice plot twist or two, but the overall premise is just DUMB. These assassins get their "hit" orders from THE LOOM OF FATE.....Yes I said LOOM OF FATE. (Your best haunted house voice cannot make this any dumber than it is) And yes I mean a loom like a weaving loom. Who controls the loom?.... We are never told. It certainly isn't God and I don't think Satan is much of a weaver...maybe it's the Free Masons....I'm open for suggestions!

Anyway, spending 2 hours sticking your head into a bath tub full of water practicing to improve how long you can hold your breath under water would be a 100% better use of your time than seeing this movie.

My New Kitchen

I can't sleep tonight. I've got a million things on my mind that I HAVE to get done at work tomorrow, HAVE to get done at work before I leave for good and several bazillion (yes, I know I said bazillion) details to get worked out before our move....not the least of which is what am I going to do with my dog?
Anyway, since I'm up I thought I'd share with you a picture or two of our new place, specifically my new kitchen! Here is my current kitchen.....

Now admittedly, I have some fond memories in this kitchen but it is soooo tiny and the burners don't heat evenly and the cabinet doors don't shut all the way. Here are some pics of my new kitchen.




(Good grief, I just spent 2o mins trying to figure out how to get these stupid pictures to stand side by side) Anyway, as you can see, I'm going to have a much larger kitchen. YEA ME!!! I'm very excited and can't wait to try out my new oven.

I'm going to try to get some sleep now. I hope you all have a wonderful week.


ps....After the 20 minutes, I still can't get the stupid things to stand side by side on the actual blog, although that's how they look to me as I'm writing the post. So if someone can help me out with that I'd greatly appreciate it....I am most definitely a severe amateur at all of this

What A Message!!

This morning I was doing my quiet time. I'm going through The Search For Significance with my friend & mentor Cindy Tafoya. This particular chapter is on Justification and it had me searching back and forth through the New Testament for things like "What is justification?" "Are you really holy & blameless, and if so why?" I doubt I need to tell you that my brain hurt after about 45 minutes but my heart was just thumping with excitement. It had been a while since I just let it sink in that I stand before the King of Kings as a holy and blameless daughter....wow.... And it's not just "in God's eyes" (as I have spent my whole life saying.) I assure you that none of the scriptures said, "In God's eyes...." Nope, they just very emphatically stated that because of Christ's sacrifice WE ARE. God is not blind to who we are because of His love for us, rather, His love (and sacrifice) has changed who we are...WE ARE BLAMELESS. How can that be? I don't know but I am so thankful for it!
What I wanted to share with you this morning is from The Message. I used it to help wade through all the complex theology of Romans. It's a trip...I highly recommend reading it sometime. Anyway, here is Romans 5:1-2 in the NAS (for those of us who consider ourselves scholars)
"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand: and we exult in hope of the glory of God."
I hope you find these verses from The Message as thrilling as I did this morning. I pray they rest on you and change your day....God your grace is beyond amazing!

"By entering through Faith into what God has always wanted to do for us-set us right with him, make us fit for him- we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that is not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand-out in the wide open spaces of God's grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.


Ya'll this is for all of us, the worst sinner among us. If you're like me, when you think of forgiveness your mind takes you back to your lowest and most awful moments. You're reminded of just how depraved you really can be. But the very miracle of justification means we are "fit for Him!" And when we throw open our doors to God, we find Him there with His already opened before us. THIS SHOULD CHANGE US...If we acknowledge this as truth it should mark us!


So our question for today is: Do our lives reflect the truth of our justified status? And if you are like me and your answer is no; your life has been marked by defeat, self-loathing, depression or worse, let's trade in the lie. Let's throw open our doors to God, and find Him there with His already wide open, waiting to receive us. We are fit for our King because of Christ's sacrifice. Let's live this ya'll.....

My Man

For those of you who may not know, my little brother got married recently. He married his high school sweetheart of six years & the love of his life, Amandy Faye Hall. They had a beautiful wedding & one heck of a party for their reception. I saw people dance at that reception who I thought I'd have to wait until the other side of glory to behold that site. Some of those unnamed miracles *coughs DAD* included my husband. Jason and I had a blast! But absolutely the most memorable of those moments was the train. I had John call Jason out and ask him to lead the train. (I had heard rumors for years that he was a very good at this job in particular, but I had never witnessed it personally) So Jason, being the good sport that he is, answered the call. And being an even better sport, let me post this picture...so enjoy!!

Treasure Hunting

I don't have any new or exciting news about our move yet. We actually don't even know when or where or any other details yet. And yes, under normal circumstances that might be a little unnerving, seeing as I have already given notice at my job, but I'm leaving all the details in the same Hands that opened up this opportunity in the first place. I know He'll work out all the details soon enough (Although, the sooner the better Lord, if I get a vote in the matter)

Anyway, the point of this particular blog was to brag about my new treasure....Oh yes here it is. Are you ready? Ok, open your eyes!

I found these babies recently at Charlotte Russe. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Charlotte Russe, it is a very trendy store for pre adolescent girls who like to dress like they are 25 or 25 year old women who can still shop in the Junior Department. *scowls at you in envy* So I'm about twenty years too old and *$&#*#* sizes too "grown" for that store but I saw them in the window and couldn't resist.
Now here is the part that makes them a "treasure." I had been eying a pair almost exactly like these in Banana Republic (that is a store meant for me!!) just five minutes earlier. The pair in Banana Republic was $135.00 on sale. Thank you Joy & Tamara for dragging me out of there by my ear in order to save me from temporary shoe insanity and inevitable buyers remorse. These babies were only $22.00...OH YEA!!! MOMMY LIKEY! (just for you Joy!) Anyway, you don't have to lecture me on the difference, I could write that lecture myself. But I'm telling you they look almost identical and as hard as I am on my shoes I'd be insane to pay the B.R. price. So as you can see, I'm all too pleased with myself. I don't usually find bargains (mostly because I don't have the patience to look) so when I do it's a Christmas Day miracle in my book.

I promise to post again soon and it won't be nearly this superficial and will inspire you to greatness, I almost guarantee...so stay tuned! In the mean time if you live in NC, feel free to run right out to Charlotte Russe and nab a pair. If you live in NM, don't even think about it.....HA!

It's Official- We're Moving

Well I've been threatening to do this for a long time...but it's official now....I've started a BLOG!! You guys are going to learn to fall in love with all my...... Just know that when they're there, I've probably been distracted by a shiny object.

Anyway, we received word last Monday that Jason had been accepted to Texas A&M, so we are now officially Aggies and will be moving to Texas sometime in late July/early August. (More on that in the future)

So now I have friends and family on two fronts to keep up with. And if history has taught us anything, it is that doing battle on two different fronts can be risky. So I came up with a most brilliant solution if I do say so myself....I'll start a blog!

So here it is.(The blog that is) Don't be surprised if it changes formats like 50 times in the next few weeks. My hopes for this blog is to post at least weekly and let you guys know what is going on with us. I hope to have lots of great pictures of me at the Aggies football games, working whatever job I end up with, and perhaps even, pictures of my latest acquisitions from my shopping escapades. (Note to self: start taking more pictures) Robyn keeps telling me that Texas is a lot less expensive than NM...I hope she's right!!

So I've babbled on long enough about nothing for this, my official first post. Leave me a comment & let me know what you think.