Better Blogger

Life is short. A phrase we have heard in a dozen movies to date, but it's true. Life flies by and before we know it we are no more than a whisp of a memory someone once had. It is funny to think about, though, that the Internet is now an archive of lives. Whimsical writers lay out their hopes, dreams, and what they had for lunch into cyberspace.

Are we hoping to leave a legacy or just bring ourselves to the place where we sit and contemplate why we celebrate each day.

My hope is that being a "Better Blogger" will do just that for me. It will take my focus off of things that bother me and help me take notice to ALL of the wonderful blessings I have in my life. God is SO good and I am not giving him all the glory if I'm not celebrating Life.

It's a New Year: no blank slate, no resolutions, just precious life.

Mmmm.... Food

I thought, since it has been a while, I would post another segment of "eating with Chelsea!"

... at least i think that is what i remember calling it :)

Enjoy!

Yikes!

It is January 19th and I am already so far behind! I will become an awesome Blogger... I will become and awesome blogger...

So, lets play catch up!

I graduated! Yay! AND... I didn't fall on my face walking across the stage! Double Yay!

Then we had a wonderful Christmas with my dad.... Sadly I think I am lacking pictures from this event. The best part of the weekend was playing Mao with my family, Grandmother included. One of the rules was to make an animal sound when a certain card was played... My sweet, beautiful, prim & proper Granmama made the best animal sounds!

It snowed! On Christmas! It was perfect.

Have I mentioned yet that we got a dog? Dexter is 6 months old now and still SO precious. He is perfect for our family. We couldn't have asked for a better pet.

Then we had Christmas with the Green's (Tom and Jayne) and family.

Then last, but not least, a wonderful, loungey Christmas day with mi madre. I love Christmas! I didn't get to spend nearly as much time on my decorations this year, got tons of time with the fam <3 and got lots of down time with my wonderful hubby. Also... i ate A LOT.

Harry playing with Cameron's new Rock Band.

Some of the yummy Christmas morning food. Breakfast casserole was just to good to wait to have it's picture taken.

Gotta have the coffee in the morning.

Cameron had a blast. Comfy chair - check, Sunggie - check, LOTS of gift - check, check and check.

I did a nice job wrapping this, if I do say so myself. Best surprise gift of the season!

Alright, well i think that covers December. I feels SO blessed by family and by the daily reminder of God's grace. Christmas was a time for gathering and celebrating, but we should always remember the Greatest Gift we have ever received is Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us.

Next up... January! Although, sadly, i don't think I have as many fun photos.

Creative people,

another thing i love. I am an aspiring creative-type. This here blog is an attempt to tap into that part of me that contains some flirty, sing-song, wording and an eye and ability to take (and post) pictures to go with it. It shall be an interesting journey. Until then, I will borrow (and accurately cite) other people's creativity :)

For today - I found a lovely christmasy photo on a blog i happened across. I love how it is suggestive of the season without any real specifics. So nice. 

http://www.thisisreverb.com/

Holiday Season

I L-O-V-E it!
All the pretty lights, red and green colors, extra time with family and a reminder that we are all so blessed in many ways.

Pictures of my Christmas decorations to follow... as soon as I put all the empty boxes away!

This is what my brain feels like right now. A mess of thoughts and anxiety that are making just about any task near impossible right now... 

Cap and gown

So close... so close! Exactly one month from yesterday I will be walking across the stage and accepting my Bachelor of Arts & Sciences. Today I purchased my cap and gown. I am feeling this weird mix of emotions...
I am SO excited! And anxious and emotional and proud and scared and joyful and tired and restless and still SO EXCITED!

I feel like i am at the end of a marathon and I am crawling for the finish line. Not that I thought I would never make it, but at times it seemed unbearable to the point of quitting. But, now I am here and have just a little bit more to go. All I keep saying to myself is "finish strong." I can see the finish line; there is still just so much to do before I get there.

Eating with Chelsea, the first of many

I am not going to explain just yet. I am going to let this sink in for a little while before I appease your curiosity.

Sleeping on the job....

Yes, i have been asleep the past 2 years and unable to bring myself to consciousness in order to update my blogs. It was the strangest thing to ever happen to me! Good news though, i have awakened from said sleep and ready to blog my little heart out!

Prepare yourself.

The wedding... an adendum.

So, the photos below were obviously a shortened version... and photographs not taken by my professional photographer. None-the-less, i wanted to get them up there! Fun, fun!

The Wedding - in photos

The prepareation was fun! This is me before putting my face on. I had been sick the entire week leading up to this! You can tell by looking at the bags under my eyes... good thing i had a great make-up artist!





Cameron picking up his tux... what a cutie! The crooked tie says it all!
















Crystal, my Matron of Honor, getting her face put on!
Steph and Anne - hair done... now on to make-up!





My "little man."

Mi Familia

I love my little family. I feel completely blessed with my boys (big one and small one). Here, let me introduce you.

Chris W Green - My wonderful Husband and friend. We enjoy lounging together and watching TV, riding bikes, hiking and anything else we do together. By himself he enjoys hockey and has been involved in YoungLife for going on 15 years. He is my supporter and encourager, my warm spot in the bed and my comedian. He is my "Sweet Boy."

Cameron R Gilmore - My vivacious son! He has been blessed with an energy about him. Cameron makes friends with all he meets. He loves playing games, swimming and playing at the park. Rain or shine he loves being outside! Being the first baby, grandbaby and great-grandbaby you could say he is VERY loved! Cam is definitely the light in quite a few family members eyes... including mine. He is my cheerleader when i am down and keeps my humble. He is my jester and my book buddy. He is my "Little Man."

Busy, busy

Well, the busy part is almost over!

Posts to be expected...

•The Wedding - all all the excitement that was 7-7-7

•The Honeymoon - at least the clean parts. Wink, wink. :)

•YoungLives Camp - So many babies!! and SO much fun!

Those three for sure in the near future! Most definately more to come!

Less than 2 weeks!

Wow! I can't believe it is so close! These past 3 months have gone by so fast! Everything is coming together nicely & i can honestly say, i am not stressed out. I am EXCITED! Woohoo!

Yeah. *sigh

:)

The Dress.

The Dress.
My first sign that God has been planning this wedding for me.



One week after i was engaged i went to check on bridal gowns.

More specifically, i went to Terry Costa to see if they carried one particualr designer and if they did, then if they carried one particular dress. Upon arriving i noticed there was a sample sale going on - to which i thought, i wish i wasn't so set on this dress or i would check out what was on sale. I was set on that dress, too. I had been looking at if for about 6 months already. I knew it was the one i wanted, no question.
(6 months ago was the about the time Chris and i seriously started talking about where our relationship was going... and really i was ready for it then, but God was not.)


So!

I proceeded to inquire about the dress and the timeline. It was going to take 4 months to get the dress in! Dang-it. I hung around the store for a little bit longer and looked at the other dresses, ones that wouldn't take 4 months to get in.
Then i am sure you can guess what happend... The sales woman came over to me carrying a dress - THE Dress. They couldn't find it earlier because it was on the sample sale rack and my $1300 dollar dress was on sale for $289! Yessss!
I couldn't try it on that night but i swore i would be back the next day. So i hid the dress amongst the others on sale and headed out.

The next day on my lunch break my friend, Deborah, and i went back to check it out. It took us a little while to find the dress in my hiding spot - but we did, i tried it on, and it FIT! Woohoo! Actually it was almost big, to which the sales woman responded - don't lose wieght and you won't have to get it altered - yet another WOOHOO! :)

So in a matter of 1 hour, i tried on one dress and took it to the counter to buy. My last "woohoo" in this story? The dress rang up for $189! 6 months ago this dress would have been $1100 more.
Thank you Lord for your timing in things.