Jessica Kelso

We both have Ipod’s with an incredible amount of music on them, like 60GB or something crazy. Half of which we probably don’t listen to because we always get in the funk of listening to the same stuff. But I quickly learned when I started running, that my big bulky Ipod wasn’t exactly ideal to use. So we got these cute little Sansa 2GB MP3 players that are awesome and just clip right on to your shorts. I think Kevin put some of the music on mine when we got them and I’ve added a couple of things since, but I’ve never really sat down and added songs that I thought would be fitting for when I run. Some of what was on there just wasn’t cutting it. So today I’ve gone through our enormous music collection and added 2GB worth of totally random, awesome, high energy music. From Queen, to Andrew WK, Electric Six, The Faint, Chiodos, and The Sleeping. I should probably just have 2GB worth of Andrew WK on there, but I thought I might get slightly annoyed after a couple of days. I sure do miss him though. Listening to certain music brings me back to different times in my life and makes me so happy. Perfumes do that too. Sunflower perfume. 7th grade. Ohhh man. Anyway, lots of good times were had listening to Andrew WK and going to his shows. I even have the proof forever tattooed on my arm.

Along with updating that, I’ve decided to try and make my own video of our wedding day. We paid good money to have a videographer at our wedding, and that’s definitely one thing I wish I could take back. It would have been so much better to just have a friend going around with our video camera catching little things happening here and there. The videographer made everyone uncomfortable and you can totally tell in the video. And his style just wasn’t our style, at all. I definitely take 100% of the blame for it though considering I picked him out. I am glad we have it all on video, just wish it was done differently. So I’ve been working on trying to find a program to take bits and pieces from his video, add pictures and music to it and make a decent one. So far I haven’t had much luck but I’m determined to make this happen before our anniversary so we will have something fun to watch.

The other day I was having a conversation with Kevin about the jobs that I would love to have. I started talking about how I would love to one day open a pregnancy resource center that was free to all who needed it. Just a couple weeks previous he had told me about a program we have here in Lakeland that does the same thing and it really got me thinking. A lady from the office attends his Rotary meetings and he has spoken with her a few times before. So after going on and on about my dream center, he said I should call and see if they are hiring or needing volunteers. How come I hadn’t thought of that? Ever since I was laid off in December I’ve wanted to volunteer, but have kept putting it off thinking I should be getting a job any day now! Six months later, still no job so I figure it’s time. And with Aidan starting school full-time next week, I will no longer have any commitments during the week. (Which is just scary!) So I called and they said they were definitely needing client advocate volunteers. So I started training last night, and I go again tonight and most of the day tomorrow. I’m in a complete awe of the things God is doing in my life right now. It’s absolutely amazing and I am so excited. With the abortion rate as high as it is, the fact that we have a place like this to help empower women by giving them ALL the information and letting them make an informed decision is just so great and I have to be a part of it. Last night I had to miss our Thursday night small group in order to attend the training, but I stopped by after wards. I was in the kitchen getting a drink when I saw the verse Exodus 4:10 written out, “Moses said to the Lord, “O Lord, I have never been eloquent neither in the past nor since you have spoken to your servant. I am slow of speech and tongue.” The Lord said to him, “Who gave man his mouth? Is it not I the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say”. Here I was wondering how in the world God was going to use me at this pregnancy center. I don’t know how to share God’s story, I can hardly even remember bible verses. I have a terrible memory and have never felt to be very good at speaking. What in the world did I sign myself up for? Why did I think this was a good idea? And here it was written out for me. It’s not my words I need to find, it’s His. So tonight I will see and hear things in the training in a new light and I am so happy about that!

Yesterday I turned 24. So far so good. I woke up to find blueberry pancakes, a princess balloon, and a couple of awesome presents from my husband waiting on me. We had plans to go to Islands of Adventure for the day, but the rain seemed to have other plans for us. We were slightly at a loss as to what that was. . . so we ended up going to lunch, getting some new plants for the yard, and then I was actually able to drag Kevin along to go shopping with me. My birthday is pretty much the only day of the year he will step foot in a clothing store without complaining! Which I’m more than okay with. Afterwards, we went to Tampa with friends to eat at my favorite Thai restaurant. It was delicious as usual. Our little nephew Owen even called to wish me a happy birthday which was the cutest thing ever!

Every year on my birthday my mom seems to talk about what a miracle baby I was and the story of my birth. I’ve heard it quite a few times by now. How badly she wanted a girl, but had convinced herself it was going to be another boy (I have two older brothers). How the doctor wasn’t quite ready and told her not to push, but I wasn’t very patient (hmmm, so that’s where it started?) and came out like a football and the doctor had to catch me. I always like hearing the story especially since I’ve never seen pictures. My parents weren’t the best at taking pictures when we were little, especially when we were born. I’ve always missed being able to see that time. But there was something about the story this year that really made me realize the extent of how truly special I was to my mom. Now having gone through the roller coaster of emotions in trying to have a baby, it all kind of overwhelmed me and made me sad to think of the times I was mean to my mom and gave her a hard time. She wanted me so bad. I mean, I’m sure if she had her choice she would minus out the tattoo’s and a couple of the different stages I went through, but she wanted me and has completely accepted who I am today. It only took me 24 years to figure that out. Thinking of that also reminded me of the love God has for me, and how it’s 1000 times more than my mom’s and that just absolutely blows my mind. It’s amazing. And realizing all that made for a great 24th birthday.

For the past couple of days we have had nothing but dark and dreary skies with lots of rain which has made it almost impossible for me to get motivated. Yesterday while shopping outdoors and getting drizzled on for a couple of hours was enough for me. Enough frizzy wavy hair. And enough trying to hop over water puddles but just slightly missing. So today I need to go grocery shopping before I get my nephew from school, but right now I don’t really see that happening. And going grocery shopping with him is a task I stay far away from. I’ve learned for me to have a successful grocery shopping trip, I need to be alone. I like to read labels and concentrate on what it is I’m buying so I don’t just grab things in the cart and go. When Aidan is with me I somehow end up with cookies and scooby doo yogurt and pop tarts. He’s sneaky, that little one. So for now I think I’ll sit right here on this couch and take advantage of the fact that Kevin has lunch plans today and won’t be needing a delicious home made lunch (ham&cheese anyone?). Maybe I’ll go tomorrow since the rain has ruined our outdoor plans. What’s better than going grocery shopping on your birthday?

Wow.

That’s all I can really say. This weekend was a-ma-zing! Friday night Kevin went to see Star Trek in IMAX with some friends while I went out with some of my girlfriends for my birthday and our friend Beth’s “last night out” before her baby is due on the 30th. We went to Outback for dinner and topped the evening off with some uno and great conversation at Starbucks. Saturday we slept in, woke up and made a pancake breakfast, then just laid around and caught up on some season finales we had on DVR from the previous week. I was also able to get in a run and lay out and go swimming with a friend which was nice.

This morning we had a nice church service followed by a housewarming party for our friends David and Kallie. Burgers were grilled and then of course the rain came. It didn’t last long and all the guys headed to the park a couple blocks over to play Wiffle ball while some of the girls watched and took pictures. They ended up switching to kickball and I even played for a little bit which was a lot of fun! I love kickball, and I think we should seriously get a team going. The rain headed our way again and we all had to hightail it to a covered area where we hung out until it was okay to walk back. Overall, a great day and now we’re tired and looking forward to an evening on the couch while watching the rain fall. It’s weekends like this that make my heart so full. I couldn’t be any more thankful for the amazing friends we’ve had the opportunity to make. I’m sure I say that a lot, but they are all such a God send.

Tomorrow my mom is picking me up and we are doing some birthday shopping before I pick up my nephew from school. Although I’m only turning 24 and have nothing too exciting planned, I love birthdays. Not only do you get special attention ON your birthday, it seems like you get it all week! We haven’t even really decided what to do on my birthday besides going to my favorite Thai restaurant in Tampa, but I’m sure whatever it is will be just fine.

I did it!!! I am soooooo proud of myself. . . and you won’t normally hear me say anything like that! I ran the Mayfaire 5K last night in 35 minutes, a lot of it was up hill, and I didn’t stop to walk AT ALL. Not once! That was my goal when planning to do it but I hadn’t actually gotten to that point while training so I was feeling very unsure of myself. The last stretch of the run was up hill and I thought I’d have to stop for a minute, but Anna said to just push through it and I did. The last minute I pushed it with everything in me and ran it out. It was amazing! It might not seem like a big deal (especially to the ones who finished in 15 minutes!) to a lot of people, but for me it’s huge. I rarely ever finish anything I set out to do. I’ve been that way since I was little. It was the best feeling to reach the finish line and finally feel like I had accomplished something good for myself. I’m glad I had Anna to run it with, because I probably couldn’t have done it alone. She is what I would call a “professional runner”, having run the Chicago marathon (26 miles!). I can only imagine. I’m so excited to know I can do this and push myself even harder to do another 5K in a month or two. Maybe I’ll set a new goal for myself to do it in 30 minutes or less!

Happy Mother’s Day to all my beautiful mommy friends out there! You are amazing and should be appreciated more for everything you do. We were able to spend the day with both of our moms and my grandma in Tampa who I rarely get to see. She is not doing so good, but still beautiful as ever. I miss her. Hope everyone had a very special day!

We’re not quite sure how he got it, all we know is my poor hubby got the sickness. (Just a bad cold and cough, calm down). It’s hard seeing him sick because he is almost always the happy one with little to complain about but the past few days has just knocked him off his feet. He missed two full days of work and a couple of hours yesterday morning. We had tickets to go see Cirque Du Soleil on Friday but our friends, Matthew and Meghan won 4 tickets for the show on Wednesday night. So I sold our tickets on Craigslist and dragged the sick guy out for the night. It was a lot of fun. I couldn’t believe some of the stuff they can do. I mean, I just didn’t know our bodies could bend that way. Makes me feel like a baby for ever complaining during kickboxing class. I think he picked it up from me, but he seems to think it was probably from someone he came in contact with in the two days of Joel’s funeral. . . either way, I’m thinking about joining in with this swine-flu-frenzy, mask-wearing-craziness, because I really don’t want to get sick again. I can now say I’ve had my share of it this year.

Today I’ve been making that delicious Amish friendship bread. Mmmmm! I can smell it now. It’s just almost TOO good. I’m making two loaves and then I’ll probably make 2 more in 10 days and that’s just completely too much goodness consumed in that short of time. Ahhh! Today also marks the 9th month of this crazy baby-making journey we’ve been on. I’ve been thinking today how I could of had a baby by now if I had gotten pregnant that first month. Crazy! God seems to have different plans for us though, so I’m just listening. And waiting. Lots and lots of praying, too. I’ve been through 3 bottles of prenatal vitamins, quite a few pregnancy tests, ovulation sticks, and numerous tear-filled nights. I’m writing a different post about all of that so maybe one day I’ll feel confident enough to share it with everyone.

The past week has been very difficult for a whole lot of people. Joel Wade Chastain, a beautiful soul passed away April 20, 2009. He was Kevin’s cousin and one of his best friends growing up. He battled a very strong addiction and ended up losing the fight. My brother was also friends with him growing up and although I remember having crushes on a couple of my brother’s friends, Joel was the biggest one. Every time I saw him he had a smile and something nice to say, and now after talking with so many people this past week who knew him, I’ve learned that was always the case.

The service was beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time. It’s gut wrenching to see the pain in everyone who knew him. The confusion on faces of people wondering how such a young life was cut so soon. For the viewing there was a steady stream of people out the door the entire time. He touched so many lives in lots of different ways. In this I’ve drawn so much closer to God and leaned on Him for understanding. Knowing Joel is in His loving arms and finally at peace is the only comfort we have. I know Kevin misses him a lot. Please say a prayer for him along with Joel’s family.

Well a couple of days ago I wrote out a nice long post, pictures and all. . . and it magically got deleted when I tried to save it. Out of frustration, I haven’t even wanted to think about writing in here again. Until today. So I’m saving this one as I write it!

We’ve had a busy couple of weeks. Two weekends ago I set out to paint our new patio set. I wasn’t completely in love with the color it was. I wanted something brighter. So I went to Lowe’s and bought a couple cans of white spray paint, set up old sheets all over the driveway and spent a whole afternoon covered in paint. While I was busy with the patio furniture, Kevin was in the back yard working on staining our deck a nice chocolate brown color. He came out to see how things were going with me and noticed how windy it was and thought we should probably cover the cars in the garage just in case. But we were a little too late because the Volvo ended up covered in little white specks. Booo. So we’ve been trying to figure out how to get it off.

Easter was lovely. My parents came to visit Access with us and really seemed to enjoy it. Later that night we had my family over for dinner and to hide eggs with my nephews. That was really cute and they had a lot of fun. This past week Kevin’s family from Tennessee were here and we were able to spend a couple of days with them. Kevin and his brother took 2 of our nephews to Lowry Park Zoo and I stayed and kept Mary company since she was stuck at home with a sprained ankle. My owl and bird burp cloths finally got some legs thanks to her. Being terrified of the sewing machine kept me away from doing that on my own. Thanks Mary

Here are before and after pictures of our fabulous deck that we worked soooo hard on!

Lack of writing lately = way too much I want to squeeze into one post!

A couple of weeks ago our pastor came to us with an envelope and asked if we would use the money inside to just go out and bless someone in the community. However we wanted, no strings attached. So after a couple of days wondering and praying about how we were meant to use the money, I came across the website for a non-profit organization called Broken Chains Ministry. They offer a helping hand to people who have recently gotten out a jail and are just getting back on their feet. On their website they had a list on donations needed, so we took the money and doubled it with our own, went to Walmart and loaded up on the main necessities. Towels, kitchen gadgets, hair brushes, shampoo. Along with cleaning out our closet and donating a whole huge bag of clothes. We were so excited to be able to help out and felt this was the ideal way to do it. It was something that hit really close to our hearts. We have seen first hand how hard it can be for people getting out of jail trying to start over. Society is not very quick to give them a second chance. Broken Chains Ministry is a huge advocate when they have nobody else and I absolutely love that. Our Pastor Jason came to us and a few others early to see how all of it would work out. So last Sunday he announced to the church that everyone would be receiving an envelope when they leave and it would have anywhere from $1 to $100 in it and just told them to do the same thing he told us, to go out and be a blessing to the community. I’ve absolutely loved reading and hearing about what others have chosen to do with the money. Access Gives Back is the website that has been created for everyone to write about what they’ve done. It was huge for us in realizing that you can give small and really make a huge impact. The local newspaper heard about what Access was doing and wanted to do a story to publish on Easter. Us and our friends Ian and Heather were interviewed and we’re really excited about how it turned out! You can view the article here. I thank God every day that he has given us a church that just wants to serve and be a blessing to others.

Today has been absolutely lovely! This morning Access had two services and my parents joined us for the first one, and I worked in the nursery the second one. It was really nice having my parents there and they seemed to enjoy it. Later on, we are having my family over for Easter dinner. You’d think I should be in the kitchen cooking and preparing but thankfully my parents are doing most of that. I’m still not very confident in cooking enough food for 8-10 people and getting the house ready and looking nice. Stresses me out a little too much! Maybe one day I’ll get better at that.

Kevin’s family reunion was this weekend and we are a little bummed about having to miss it. Trying to save money and prior commitments we made for this weekend left us with no way of going. Though we’re really looking forward to getting to spend time with his brother’s family this week since they will be staying with his parents.