gross.

The is my sweet boy's arm...don't be jealous ;) 2 weekends ago Steven was visited by a friendly little brown recluse. A brown recluse that wasn't feeling very reclusive at the time he decided to inject his poison into Steven's arm. Why oh why, LBR would you want to hurt somebody like Steven? All he was trying to do was serve God by taking our kids on a retreat. He was only doing his job and minding his own business. Yes, he probably slept in your personal space, but really, turn his arm white because of severe infection? Is that REALLY necessary? I think not.

BTW...his arm is fine now. No big gapping holes, bruising or white flesh. We are thankful, still a little traumatized, but so very thankful.

After and before

The finished kitchen floor!!!
Kind of a blurry finished product pic, but you get the idea. Promise, the pillows normally face the correct. Man, I really should have straightened up before I started snapping pictures!
Silly Steven, making silly faces in our newly floored living room! Yea, it's done, it's done!
This is during the process. They did such a good job! Thank goodness for people that know what they are doing and that those people love us!
This is our living room before, minus the cushions and sorry about the laundry. Sorry this is a backwards before and after post. More like an after and before. Forgive, I am new at this posting pictures business! So that's it. We really do love it so much. No more stained carpets and we broke down and got a new stove too so we are no longer risking our house burning down when we cook. Thanks for humoring me.

a clean slate

This past weekend, we (more specifically my Dad, and 2 other YM Dad's) installed hard wood floors in our down stairs. It looks so good! I am so excited about having a floor that is not all stained up by somebody else's kid. It's so clean looking. We also got a new oven because our old one wasn't quite working the way that it should. My Mom so lovingly called it a "fire hazard". I feel like such a princess having all four burners working, a timer, a clock and a actual light where I can see what I am cooking. Glorious!! So far Mom has been the only one breaking that joker in. So anyway, that has consumed the past few days for us. I will post before and after pics as soon Steven gets a chance. Sorry I am just not good at that.
In other news, we have been so busy(I know that comes as a huge shock!). The weekend before last, we went to Winterfest and had a great time with the kids. They did so well with so much freedom. We even got a compliment about the way they were behaving. It was a pretty big deal. This weekend is a leadership retreat for several churches in our area. I haven't decided if I am going or not. I am really tired and just want to stay at home. Maybe I will just come up late. My parents are leaving today. It has been so nice to have them with us, but I am looking forward to routine. OK, that's all I got!

my birthday week...

Monday (29th) was great! I got balloons at work from my parents, received lots of calls and e-mails wishing me a Happy Birthday and went to this fancy schamncy restaurant for dinner with my sweet punkin. Oh yea, Michael and Mindy Cooper called me to tell me that they are pregnant!! Tuesday (30th) was strange. My friends at work took me out for my birthday to Blue Coast Burrito and I was super pumped. Later that day I got a call from Steven asking me if it would be okay for a 17 year old runaway to stay at our house for the night. What?!?! All of these questions and thoughts went through my head. Is he going to kill me? Do I need to hide all of our bank statements? Is he gross? (sorry, but I can very shallow) But the thought that most penetrated my head was "this is exactly what we are called to do". So I said okay, but was really nervous UNTIL I got home and looked in our extra room where he had put all of his stuff. There, lying very peacefully on the bed, was a tuning fork. Yes, you read right, a tuning for fork. Two more thoughts...1) A band nerd, I can handle a band nerd...2) What kind of runaway carries a tuning fork with him?!?!? Oh, and I also bought hardwood floors for the whole down stairs and I am super pumped. I will post pics when it is done. Wednesday (31st) was equally perplexing. So I go home at lunch to check on our little vagabond and he was gone. So gone that it looked like he never walked through our door. All of his stuff was gone and the bed was perfectly made. Kind of a strange feeling. Turns out he decided that he is not grown enough to make it without his parents and went back home. Did I mention that home is Dallas, TX? Thursday (1st) was really fun. It was a snow day here in Little Rock so I was off all day. We went shopping, bought a new light fixture for the kitchen, then went home and did some things on the house that needed to get done. Friday (2) was productive. I cleaned our house, Steven put up the new light in the kitchen and we spent most of the evening watching the last six episodes of Lost getting geared up for next week. So there you have my birthday week. Man, this year of 28 has started really strangely.

What?!?!

0 degrees, with a "feels like" temp of -20. What?!?! Who exists in such conditions and actually enjoys it? This past week I spent some time in Denver/Breckenridge, Co. I had a blast in Denver and also decided that Colorado does a FANTASTIC job at presentation. Everything looks cute, has a catchy name and really just makes you feel cooler when you are there. Colorado oozes with cool. Not to say that all Coloradans are cool, but their state for sure is. Anyway 0 degrees was the temp Sunday morning. Needless to say Kelly didn't quite make it out on the slopes that day. I understand that we only get to ski every two years, BUT there was no way that I was going to spend 65+ dollars on being miserable. No way at all!!!! So I took the prissy route and sat on the couch, in front of the fireplace and read my book. And I was totally comfortable in that choice. I am not too proud to say that I am cold and don't want to ski today! I don't have anything to prove to anybody! Anyway, besides that and 2 friends with the stomach flu, we had a great time and are so thank full for the time with good friends. I got to spend sometime with my college roommate, Analisa and her new baby boy. It was great.
Now that we are back home and I am relishing in the routine. I have slept in MY bed consistently for 4 nights. It almost brings tears to my eyes. The spring semester is sooo busy and I feel like I am having to play catch up with no time for myself which totally sucks but part of the deal. So here we go! Summer will be here before we know it. Enjoy your day today!!!

Swish, swish

That is the sound that I will be making as I sail down the Colorado mountains, freezing my face off and enjoying time with friends. Today, Lezley and I fly out for the great state of Colorado. Several things are exciting about this trip. 1) I get to fly with Lezley. I hate to fly and I believe that she will be she will be a great flying partner because she will actually talk to me. Sounds terrible, but Steven loves to spend flying time as Steven time so he literaly gives me crazy looks when I ask simple questions during that time. I like to fly with distractions, of course, not the plummeting to your death sort of distractions. 2) I get to spend time with college roommates and a very important baby boy named Jackson. 3) We get to ski!!!! I love to ski but don't get to do it often enough (another reason why Arkansas is crappy) so this will be super fun. Since I am terribly out of shape 2 days will be all that my body can handle so the timing is great as well. 4) The place that we are staying has an awesome hot OUTSIDE! I know that this does not really sound super. Just picture hanging out with close friends, in Colorado, outside with snow, but so warm and toasty in the hot tub. Sounds pretty fantastic to me!
BTW, I am so glad that holidays are over! It was so fun but kind of stressful. It was great to be able to spend time with Steven's family, including Hovie and Martha, but I was ready to be back in my own bed. I talked to my sister yesterday and she said that everything was going great with her pregnancy BUT they are now having a BOY and not a girl. So we will have a nephew by the middle of May. I can't wait!

I am so annoyed! I just lost a great post about Christmas cards. Sorry, here's the short version...I love Christmas cards with pictures on them...Sorry the Hovater's don't participate in these festivities...maybe next year...Merry Christmas!

Yuck!

We have had a tough weekend. On Friday morning my best friend/college roommate/sister-in-law called me to let us know that her father passed away. He was in a terrible car accident a couple weeks prior and his badly broken body just couldn't fight anymore. What do you say? I didn't know what to say. We just cried and briefly spoke about the details. On Saturday afternoon we got news that a teacher/coach at CAC had a massive stroke and wasn't going to make it. Not only was I trying to process my sweet friend Matha's loss, I now was attempting to offer encouraging words to a house full of bawling teenage girls (we were at a girls retreat). What do you say? Sunday morning on our way to Matha's Dad's funeral we got the call that Coach Brady died. I still feel pretty much numb and exhausted from these 2 incidents. I feel that they all will be fine but will always ache for those they lost. Please be prayerful for Matha, her family and our YM kids. This sucks, sucks, sucks.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

4 inches!!!! That is how much it rained on Monday night which also perpetuated a big fat leak in our sky light. Steven is silly boy who woke up at 2am because he wanted to go and watch the storm while I stayed in our bed to scared to move. I hate storms! I really feel like this Californian has transitioned almost flawlessly (Ha!) into a southerner EXCEPT when it comes to storms. They are so scary and on Monday night I was ready to put our house up for sale to move far away from the south. Anyway, Steven gets up, goes outside to watch the storm and comes back to inform me that it looks like a huge bird pooped all over our entry way floor. We have that hideous popcorn stuff on our ceilings (I apologize if you love the popcorn) and when it gets wet, it drips in a pattern very much like bird poop. GROSS! I go down stairs to check it out and he was right and I am sad. Not only do we have bird poop on the floor but an stain on our ceiling to match. I am really hoping it is just the seam in the sky light but I suppose it could be the roof as well. Oh Man!!! I hate to spend money on things like that! So after a day of feeling sorry for myself I get a call from my good friend Lezley. She called to let me know that their ENTIRE basement flooded on Monday night as well. I felt so crappy for moping around all day about my small leak when their whole basement was flooded. Sorry Lezley. So that was the last couple of days for us. Hopefully I will hear from the roofer today and I will keep you updated. Have a good Thursday!

Soup and Monopoly

Last Friday night Steven and I hosted a soup and monopoly party. For those of you who hate monopoly, I understand you distaste, but have you ever tried playing on teams while pooling your money together? All of the sudden it goes from a boring game that never ends into a fast pace "to the poor house you go!" kind of game and it is so fun with friends. We had a soup potluck so we had 3 different kinds to choose from and they were all so good. What a blessing it is to have times like this. Just hanging out with friends.
What is your guys' opinions of light-up Christmas figurines for outside decorations...specifically light up penguins? My first reaction is tacky, tacky, tacky. I love the classic white lights and just enough to be pretty not overwhelming. My husband on the other had feels like the brighter the better. We were in Home Depot yesterday and all he could talk about was how he wanted light up penguins to be on our roof strategically placed at an angle, looking over at our Holiday guests' heads as they come up to our front door. I really think that is so tacky but I found myself laughing so hard just at the thought of that being part of our holiday. Really I giggled through out the whole isle. If it can bring me that much joy at the thought of it maybe we just need to do it. Steven's funness is wearing down my snobbery.
This weekend Matha and Hovie come to see us. I am so excited!!! I can't want to hang out with them. I have been missin me some Matha.
On Wednesday of next week we are leaving for Cali. I am really looking forward to spending time with my family, albeit a short trip. (Leslie how was that use of the word 'albeit'?) Though it will be Thanksgiving we will do our 'Christmas' with my family so I am really pumped about that too. My parents just sold our house so this will be the last trip on Orange Ave. I am sad because it is the house that we grew up in but excited for my Mom that she will finally have the house she has always wanted. Have a great week!

Hovater Update

Yup that's right, Kelly has nothing super exciting to blog about but feels the pressure to write something so we have another Hovater update!! Okay, did I tell you guys that we found a couch. Well we did and it has yet to arrive! I am so annoyed! We ordered it in September and it hasn't come in yet. Should I asked for a percentage off? Apparently the couch making plant closed so they had to send our order to another place, but of course the order was not sent until about 6 weeks into it. I haven't been to upset because we still have our old couch but I am starting to get a little impatient. Alabama lost to UT. We are sad, sad, sad. They played so well up until the last 6 minutes or so. Oh why can't they seem to get it together? Regardless, I sported my new Bama jersey with pride. Steven tells me I am a bully. I have been depressed ever since mostly because I think that he's right. Man, this marriage thing is so wonderfully honest though sometimes it makes me feel crappy. I think that because Steven is so fantastic at letting me be me, I have not done a good job of controlling the less fun parts of myself. That makes it sound like that blame is his, totallly not what I mean. I need to cherish his willingness to embrace the total Kelly package while doing my best to change that package into something beautiful. That has really been on my mind for the last few days. I do a terrible job at protecting Steven from the wrath of Kelly. Umm lets see what else, oh, I think that Fletcher's (my 98 4 runner with 176,000 miles) days are numbered. Side note: Jesse Maddox Faris was the one who found him for me. Anymore ideas Jess? I think that it is time but I am not sure what I want. For sure nothing new, I rather not put ourselves in any more debt then necessary, but something fun. I am some what leaning towards a pathfinder but I am open to any opinions OR if you know anybody selling their car/SUV with low millage and it's cute that would be helpful too. Okay that's all I got hope you guys are having a good Monday!

The wedding and vacation

Last weekend (Oct 1) was Matha and Hovie's wedding. It was fantastic. Everything was beautiful and they are now currently beginning this stage in their life in Argentina. Pretty cool huh? After the wedding we traveled to Roanoke Virginia to spend some time with Steven's cousin. It was so fun. They have a 19 month old who is the smartest child I have ever been around. I know that girls typically talk more and earlier then boys, but whoa. When all the adults were talking it seemed like she would listen for words that she has never heard and then verbally practice them a few time, commit them to memory and include them in her every day vocabulary. It was great to get to know their whole family better. After that we went to DC for a couple days. The first day was pretty stressful for my penny pinching self. Why are the hotel prices DOUBLE of any other place in the country. Well any place that I have ever been. I had two choices... spend 2 something each night for a clean safe normal hotel or risk our lives by staying at a hotel that was resembled the hotel that MLK jr. was killed at. (Sorry Memph) I was truly in Shadesville and I did not like it. So I decided, very reluctantly, on the more expensive of the two. DC is an awesome place. We saw as much as we could in the short time that we there. We ate some great food and walked our faces off. Oh, I just remembered... I am going to be an aunt!! Yea!!! My twin sister Courtney is pregnant, due in May and I am pa-umped! So their you have the last week of my life. It was a great trip but I am glad to be back to the ole routine.

Trying not to be a poser....

This past weekend we traveled to Fayetteville, AR to watch our beloved Alabama football team. Well I say "our", but I am not sure that I can claim Bama as "mine" yet. Isn't there some sort of ritual that I need to go through to be a fan of a SEC team? I kind of feel like there should be. I'm not from here I don't know these things! I think that southerners have special milestones pertaining to fanmanship in the SEC that Californians don't learn when we are young. Unless you have attended a school in the SEC. At that point I will just call you a late bloomer or maybe a "delayed". I mean I screamed my face off, sang and chanted as best I could. By the way, Alabama has the most songs ever and being the relatively new fan that I am I have to say that I am a little intimidated. I wore a really cute jersey and thanks to the sun, I now have a small white spot on my cheek where the Bama face tattoo once stood. Steven called it a "fan tan". Now for all of you anti Bama fans out there (Jesse) hear this... I have made my choice! Don't try to persuade me to your side because I am not feeling connected to this team yet. I fully intend to press on and declare "Roll Tide" every chance I get, I'm just trying to solicit advice on how to become more emotionally connected to a team that I am a fan of by marriage. Steven said that I became a fan the day I was home by my self and drove to Target to purchase a new antenna just so I could watch the game. I still feel disconnected. Any suggestions? Maybe the next time we go to Bryant Denney I need to work for my fanmanship by collecting used plastic cups and wash them by hand.

Tough Week

Yup, it's been rough. My Dad's best friend was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor which the doctors predicted would only give him 6 months to 1 year to live. He is not only my Dad's best friend but our second Dad. Bruce is his name and he awesome! He is one of those Dad's who is great about giving you hugs that make you feel safe, always ready to help and is a great story teller. I love him and his family and I am really sad. It also is rough becuase I can not be at home to support and love on him and his family. I talked to his wife yesterday and it was a hard conversation. She said several things but the most heartbreaking phrase was, "We are just going to have a great Christmas this year". What do you say when you get news like that? Please pray for Bruce and his family and my family. These last few weeks have been full of prayers with so many needs and I hate to add another burden to your guys' thoughts, but there it is.
On a brighter note currently I am in Birmingham with Matha and so enjoying myself. I have already spent the morning doing lots o' shopping and in a few hours with head to Tupelo to celebrate her upcoming marriage with all of her close friends. I super pumped about a relaxing weekend and sharing this time with her. Okay that is all I got.

prayers please

http://julian-family.blogspot.com/

Please check this out. A friend from college, Kelly Stewart, her new born is having some complications. Please, prayer for this family. Kelly is also the sister of Karie Stewart Green, I think that a lot of you guys may know her. Their family needs our prayers!

Rewind 2 years

So right about now I was probably waking up from an extremely restless sleep, totally freaking out inside and doing everything possible to keep myself from bursting out into tears. Yup, it was the big day, our wedding day. Today is our two year anniversary and it has been an awesome journey so far. I think at this point in the day (two years ago) I was so ready to get this over with so I could be normal Kelly vs super overwhelmed and stressed out Kelly. I was hungry but afraid that I was either going to hurl or poop (sorry kind of graphic) out even the tiniest crumb. As soon as we walked back down the isle and it was all over I felt a huge weight lift off of me. I could be normal Kelly again!! God has been so faithful to us over the past two years. I have learned so much about myself and Steven and this adventure that we are on. My suspicions have been confirmed about Steven. He truly is the most wonderful man. ( I know that most of you out there are thinking "there is no way that Steven could be as wonderful as my husband") But my friend, he really is. Well let me say that he is perfect for me. Daily, my love and respect grows for him. He is so wise and smart. I could go on and on so I will stop. I am thankful and so blessed to have been given the responsibility to share life with this most awesome man of God. It is an honor beyond my wildest dreams. Happy 2 years to us!!!

Finally!

We are on our way to routine. Steven got home safely from his trip last night and I am pumped. I feel like I got some good friend time and Kelly time. Punkin time here we come!! Besides routine the next couple of months are bringing some exciting times for the Hovaters. Every single weekend in September is taken up by friends coming to see us or us going to see friends. How wonderful!!! I am so pumped about about seeing Leslie and Jonathan, Rocky, Ashley and Camp (their new baby boy), Matha and her batchlorette weekend, and Matha and Hovie's wedding. Also I am trying to work out a quick trip to Memphis for Jessica's wedding. I am really needing some refreshing time with dear friends.
The first Wednesday night of the school was surprisingly great. I totally expected a room fully of grumpy kids hating the beginning of the new school year. But I was totally wrong! Their was great energy and excitement, I thought. See! There is something to this routine thing!
After a long week, I decided to take off the rest of the day. Have great weekends!
Oh, Steven's teacher, Laurie Mitchell, her surgery went great. I think that they got everything they are just in the waiting period to get the results back and then decisions can be made of where to go from there.

He's gone... Again.

I have a wonderful servant minded husband who lives his life to help those he loves and I am selfish. Steven is gone again but for two very good reasons. ( I guess mission trips are good reasons too) 1) A very special friend of our was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and Steven went to Huntsville to love on and support her family during her surgery, a total hysterectomy. This wonderful woman was Steven's drama teacher at Mars Hill. Their last name should be Hovater or our last name be Mitchell to show how much Steven loves this family and considers them part of ours. Please be prayerful her healing and recovery. 2) Steven's bestfriend "thewalrus" is finally moving back to the south and we are so excited and thankful for this opportunity for him. So Steven and Coop went to help him move and spend some much needed boy time together. That means I am baching it again. Thewalrus- please know that I am absolutely more then willing to be lonely for a few days anytime if it means having you closer to us. Be sweet to my punkin. This morning, after a rough night of sleep, I am really feeling the absence of Steven, but that is the deal and I will be fine. He will be better for this time with friends and I will try and be intentional about using this time grow in my relationships with friends and the Lord.

He's home!!

Steven got home last Saturday and it has been so nice to have him home. There have been several times when I just look at him and think to my self I am so glad that he is home. He had some crazy times in Mexico. They almost were flooded out of the city so building an entire house was very challenging but they got it done in 3 days. Man, wouldn't it be nice if all houses were built in 3 days! Since then there hasn't been a whole lot going on but we are for sure making our way back into some sort of routine. Sorry this is really boring but I am trying to get in some sort blogging routine and so that means that a consequence of this new discipline is that there may be a boring post or 2 or 3. I will try and pep it up for the next one.

Hovater Update

So it's one of those posts again. Not much going on but feeling the pressure to update my blog. Currently I am sitting on our couch watching TV while Steven is on his way to Mexico with our high schoolers. He was so excited about this trip becuase he gets to build an entire house in one week for a Mexican couple which is pretty cool. I am excited about the trip becuase it is the last one of the summer and marks the end of the summer. Routine here we come!!!! We have had a great summer, don't get me wrong, but there is something to routine. Knowing what to expect each day is so securing and grouding. Of course it can be boring but things have been so crazy lately I ache for boring.
We should be taking a vacation at some point but with Martha and Hovie's wedding and Steven starting back at school I am not really sure when that is going to be happening. But when we go we are planning on spending time in Virgina and DC. I haven't been to either and his cousin lives in that area so why not?
I am sure that you all are dying to know where I am at with the whole furniture thing. It is currently on hold for now becuase I have focused my saving efforts to put in bamboo floors in the living room and kitchen. I am super pumped and since my Dad is awsome at building and fixing stuff he has graciously offered to install them saving us a bunch of money. So spending time with fam and getting new floors. Bamboo you say? Well here is what I know of bamboo floors curtesy of Martha soon-to-be Hovater. They are 30% more durable then hardwood, about 2-3 dollars cheaper a square foot, eco friendly because it is every where and it doesn't expand with weather conditions like wood floors do. To be honest the cheaper thing is what got me and from what I can see they look just as cool as wood floors, I think. After that will come the last furniture purchase of a couch which hasn't been to much of a struggle to hold off on because I can't find anything that I love.
2 things to note form this summer... we were victims of theivery TWICE this summer. Once at Harding's summer camp, UPLFT (Steven's powerbook) and "The Big PV Heist" (our video camera that was sitting on Steven's desk) Currently I am typing on Steven's new Macbook, which is pretty cool and we are still waiting on the insurance check for the video camera. Both sucked but we now have a newer and more awesome computer and the little jerks that stole our camera now are the proud owners of a broken camera. (it broke like 2 weeks before) HA! That is what you get you little jerks!!!
That is really all that I got. This week will bring a clean house, because I won't have Steven to pick up after, lots of Kelly time, finishing the new book that I got and spending with time with frineds. I hope everyone has a great week!!!