Jessica Kelso

There was a fella who wanted to do a good thing for his wife. He got out a ladder and hung some Christmas lights up outside of their house. He whistled while he worked. His dog played in the yard. Everything was grand. Later that night, he came home from the store and tried to open the garage door when he saw it was having a problem. He got out to inspect the problem. He saw that the extension cord used in helping power the lights above the garage door had fallen and gotten tangled in the wires which helps open and close the garage door. The fella assumed the garage door would stop if there was enough pressure but he was wrong and the door closed almost all of the way down. Boy, was he wrong. The fella became very angry at the thought of what was happening. He sees now that the door is not moving in either direction. The next hour of the fellas life was dedicated to trying everything he could possibly think of to get the garage door to close completely. (He didn’t want a thief to come in and steal all of his belongings). A couple broken hinges and wires later, there was a loud bang and all was good with the fella and his wife.

That was before he realized his other car was stuck inside the garage until the garage door people came to fix it, and it would most likely cost him his first born. This made for one very sad fella.

The end.

Today (and every day-forever) I’m thankful to God.

When I close my eyes and focus all of my thoughts on Him, I know He is truly everything I need. I’m thankful for His unconditional love. I’m thankful He saved me, not because there was ever any good in me, but because of His amazing love and grace. I’m thankful that He forgives AND forgets. I’m thankful that no matter what life brings my way nothing can take away the security I have in Him. I’m thankful He is constant even when everything in life changes. I’m thankful to know that if I die tonight, I’m going to be with Him forever. I’m thankful He has always supplied me with everything I need and more. I’m thankful He never gave up on me, even when I had tried to push Him away. I’m thankful for everything He’s doing in the lives around me. I’m thankful He made me unique, with special skills, traits, and dreams. Big dreams. All of my previous thanks I’ve talked about go back to one big-amazing-awesome God. He is the One who’s given me all that I am thankful for and I am blessed beyond words.

I made it through the weekend.

It’s only Monday and I’m already looking forward to my next days off. Saturday we spent most of the day in Orlando helping our friends, Cassie and Richard, move into their new house. I was amazed by the fact that we were able to pack their entire house in ONE truck. It blows my mind. Cassie’s dad kept taking boxes from me, saying they were too heavy. . . but I insisted on helping as much as possible. I wish I would have listened. . . because Sunday I woke up incredibly sore. I mean, slow-as-a-turtle, moans-and-groans sore. I should listen to other people when it comes to what I can carry, since I like to think I’m the strongest human alive.

After deciding the pain wasn’t going to stop me about halfway through the day, we decided to make our way to T-Mobile to pick up our new G1 phones! Christmas came a little early in the Kelso house. Normally I’m the one who hates waiting for things, but this time it was Kevin. As much as he’s given in to me, how could I not give in to this? It was our main present to each other. Aren’t they pretty? I never knew a phone could offer as much as these little guys do. I’m so careful with it too. I’m sure within a couple of weeks, it’ll have scratches and dents from being dropped but as of now it’s being treated right. I sold my old phone tonight for $60! Can’t beat that. I love Craigslist. Just when I think about putting things in the closet or even the garbage, I remember Craigslist and almost always end up making a little bit of money.

Sunday night we played some Christmas tunes and put up our new tree. Last year we had a real tree that was full and beautiful. This year we decided to have a smaller, cheaper, EASIER tree. I wasn’t sure if I would like it, but I do! I love it. It’s such a perfect size for the room. I just love the way the light looks with the fireplace going and the Christmas tree lights turned on. It’s my favorite thing ever!

Today I’m thankful for my sweet husband.

I’m thankful for his love. I’m thankful for his sense of humor. I’m thankful that he wakes up earlier than needed a lot of mornings just to make me coffee. I’m thankful he’s the most attractive person in the world. I’m thankful for his wonderful family. . . who have also become my family. I’m thankful for his randomness -like dancing horribly to George Michaels, “Faith” in the car. I’m thankful he’s secure enough in his masculinity to even be able to do that. I’m even thankful for his flaws, because they are good flaws. Flaws that I know I can deal with for the rest of my life. I’m thankful for his willing heart to help others. I’m thankful that he is a social butterfly, since I can be socially awkward at times. I’m thankful for his past, because I know it’s helped shape who he is today. I’m thankful he’s my best friend. I’m thankful he makes pancakes every Saturday. I’m thankful he won’t let me walk in the door without giving me a hug or kiss. Even if I’m not in the mood, he follows me around the house until I give in. I’m thankful he pays the bills, because I’ve never been very good at that. I’m thankful he puts up with my flaws. I’m thankful he is an amazing provider. I’m thankful he tells me I’m beautiful every day, seriously. . . every day. I’m thankful he cooks dinner when I’m completely worn out and want nothing to do with the kitchen. I’m thankful for his health and that I get to wake up next to him every morning. I’m thankful for our past together, and I’m completely excited about our future!

(The list goes on and on. . . I’d just hate to make anyone else wish they were married to him!)

Today I’m thankful for my beautiful home.

I’m thankful for the real hard wood floors and big walk in shower. I’m thankful for all of the flowers that we haven’t managed to kill yet. I’m thankful that we get to live in this beautiful home and somehow manage to pay our mortgage payment every month. I’m thankful for the gas fireplace that keeps us warm on these cold Florida nights. Okay, okay. . . we have to keep the windows open to even have the fireplace going, but it’s still nice. I’m thankful for the huge backyard that will someday be filled with kids laughing, swings swinging, and treehouses to hide in. I’m ever-so-grateful to  our house for not needing any major repairs since we moved in. I’m thankful for PLENTY of storage and wonderful neighbors. I’m thankful it sits tucked away nicely in a cul-de-sac. I’m thankful for the smell, the sight, and the overwhelming amount of love felt when I walk in the door. Mostly, I’m thankful God has blessed me with such a beautiful home that I can take pride in every day.

I know there is only a week until we all gather around the dinner table and stuff our faces full of yummy turkey, stuffing, and pies. . . but I thought I could go ahead and be thankful for one thing every day until then.

Today (and every day) I’m thankful for my wonderful parents.

I’m thankful for their selflessness. I’m thankful they raised me in church, so I knew from a young age how much God loved me. I’m thankful they fought for their marriage through hard times, and are still together to this day. I’m thankful that they never forced me to be someone I wasn’t. I’m thankful for their forgiveness day after day. I’m thankful that they picked out a nice name for me, knowing how much worse life could have been with a name like “Talula does the hula“. I’m thankful that they live 5 minutes away so I can go see them anytime I want. I’m thankful for their devotion to God, their marriage, and us kids. I’m thankful that I got dad’s sense of humor and mom’s tender heart.

I wasn’t able to pick the family I was born into. . . but if I could have, they are it. I will never be able to fully repay them for the love they have shown me or the gifts they have given, but I will try my best to pass on all of these things to my own children someday.

As promised. . .

Before:

After:

The before picture is from the day we bought our house. It’s the best picture I could find of just the fireplace. The only times it has been pictured, are the times we have been sitting in front of it (trying to hide the ugly trim I imagine!). I know it’s not a “wow” difference to most, but it is huge to me. I’m still deciding what to do with those handles. Leave ‘em? Paint ‘em white to match the white mantle? Black to just blend in with the fireplace? Hmmm. Ohh, I’ve also been thinking about painting the whole fireplace white. The only thing stopping me is the thought of it turning out bad and not being able to get the red brick back. And I can see the drama unfolding already. . . Jessica paints fireplace brick white, Jessica hates it, Jessica has no back-up plan for this happening, so Jessica and Kevin have to dish out lots of money to get a whole new fireplace. Jessica is sad and then Kevin tells her she should have just left it alone because it was fine.

I guess I should listen to Kevin.

Today I went over to my parents house to help my mom go through some of the things she’s been holding onto for us over the years. They are cleaning out the spare bedrooms (I think for the first time since we’ve all moved out), and getting ready to paint and replace the carpet. I found so many sweet things that brought back such good memories. My mom has kept around a couple of baby dolls that I loved “just in case” I have a daughter of my own. They have seen better days, and I’m sure they should be thrown out. . . but there’s something about those dolls that I want to hang onto. Such sweet and innocent times. I also came across a journal that I kept when I was 8 years old. One of the entries read, “I love babies. I have a friend who has a baby. She loves her baby. My aunt has a baby named Jessica. I hope I have a real baby some time if it doesn’t cry.” Ha!  From the sound of it, I think I made stuff up. I have no cousins named Jessica. . . and I’m pretty sure at the age of 8, I didn’t have any “friends” that had babies. I don’t know what I’m going to do with all these journal entries, but there’s no way I can toss them out. There were a lot of other things I wanted to keep as well, but decided it’s better for me to live in a clutter free home then to hang on to everything from my past.

Well, here it is. Sunday again. The weekend went by too fast, again. Lucky for me, I was able to get everything done I had planned out. I finally got around to getting rid of the nasty brass gold color that surrounded our fireplace. Originally I wanted to paint it silver, but finding a high heat silver spray paint is harder than it sounds. So I went with a flat black color. It’s outside drying as I type this so as soon as it’s put back together I will post pictures. Friday night after work, we went to Grass Root for dinner. It’s the first organic restaurant in Lakeland and I’ve been anxiously awaiting it’s opening for a while. It was awesome! I’m so excited it’s just a couple minutes from my work and home.

Tonight I decided to try a new recipe I found for chocolate chip pumpkin bread. It was so easy to make and absolutely delicious! I have recently discovered that baking has become my new hobby. Specifically baking certain things related to whatever season it might be. I need to learn how to just bake though and not eat the whole product of my labor. I’m thinking that’s not really possible, and even if it is. . .  I don’t think it sounds as fun. I know if I don’t learn that though, it will soon become a hobby that makes me large as ever! Either way it’s fun and everything I’ve been making has turned out amazing.

Go to www.images.google.com. Type in your answer to these questions and post a picture from the first page of results under the question.

1. Your age at your next birthday:

2. Favorite place I would like to travel to:

3. My favorite place:

4. Your favorite food:

5.  Your favorite pet:

6. Favorite color combination:

7. Favorite piece of clothing:

8. My favorite movie:

9. Town in which you live:

10. First job I had:

11. Dream job:

12. A bad habit you have:

13. Worst fear:

14. Something you want to do before you die:

I’m avoiding work. This is what I do. I work all day, non stop, until I’ve almost completed whatever the task at hand is. The next day I start at it again, but with much less enthusiasm and it always seems to take the whole day to finish what could have been done in a good hours worth of work. I’m not sure why I do this. Maybe it’s because I get bored, or maybe it’s just pure laziness. Either way, it’s what I’m doing right now. . . and probably what I’ll be doing rest of the day.

This weekend we spent most of our time working in the yard. Let me rephrase that, Kevin spent most of his time working in the yard! I helped. I swept the sidewalk, played with Milo, pulled a couple of weeds ( that were the size of small trees ), and climbed up into the hot attic to get anything and everything Christmas related down. So for the time being, we only have a 1 car garage until I can go through it all and see what else I might want this year. The new plants we got for the front yard are really pretty. Although, I’m pretty sure anything would look better than the azaleas that were barely hanging on to the last bit of life they had left. It was sad. We still have a lot more to do in the yard. . . but I imagine it’ll always be that way.

So now I’m deciding when is an okay time to start putting up Christmas decorations. I’ve always thought the rule is to wait until after Thanksgiving, right? That just seems so far away though and sometimes I can be very unpatient. We’ll see how long I last. I will make a promise right now to at least not put up any Christmas lights. . . outside. I’ll only look overly excited about Christmas to anyone who comes inside!