Music...

....Is the closest thing to a time machine that we have.

Here are the songs that I associate with each word. It's what I was listening to when I think of the word.

Laugh: "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen. My dad sings this to anyone in our family when/if we break up with a significant other (which means I don't hear it anymore--ha!).



Cry: "I Will Carry You" by Selah. Click here to read the back story. It was written after little Audrey Caroline passed away after living for 2 hours. It correlates with my passion for protecting the unborn and for mothers to be a shelter to their unborn baby, no matter the circumstances.



Smile: "Moon River" by Andy Williams, "Dear Heart" by Jack Jones, anything by Nat King Cole or Bing Crosby



Think About High School: "Words I'll Never Say" by Avril Lavigne and "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses because it was our dance team march-out song.


Think About College: "Under Attack" from the Mamma Mia soundtrack and "Listen" by Beyonce.



Think About Your Ex: "Hold Her Closer" and "Light In Your Eyes" by Blessed Union of Souls



Dance: "About Us" by Brooke Hogan (my friend and I choreographed our rush skit and this was one of the songs) and many others.

Dating: "Really Want To See You Tonight" by Bread (when I was dating Kurt)

Totally Depressing: "I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan. Predictable, but true, right?



Turn the Radio Up: "Single Ladies" by Beyonce. Love her.



Summer Is Here: For some ridiculous reason all I can think of is "Island in the Sun" by Weezer. Seriously, Ashley?


A Difficult Time: "Yesterday" by the Beatles



Sappy: Most 80's songs I know (I don't care for that decade). Anything by Bryan Adams.



80's Perfection: "The Longest Time" and "Uptown Girl" by Billy Joel



What Is This Blasphemy?: Any form of rap music. It's just atrocious.



How/Why Do I Even Like This?: "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus



My Childhood: Anything from the Philips, Craig, and Dean album "Trust" and the 4Him album "The Ride." We listened to those albums when my Dad drove me and my sister Alyssa to elementary school. Gosh, those songs take me back.



My Right Now: "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Somebody to Love" from the Glee soundtrack



Wake Up: "The Tide Is High" by Atomic Kitten



Relax: Any instrumental music by Henry Mancini or really any song on the XM channel "Escape"



Roll the Windows Down: "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "Annie's Song" by John Denver



Sing It Loud: "Somebody to Love" by Queen. I will rock out to this song until I die.



Dance in Your Car: "I Say A Little Prayer" by Dionne Warwick (among many)



Pretend Your a Singing Star: "I Surrender" by Celine Dion. Such a fan.



Memory With Mom: "Top of the World" by the Carpenters. Also "Ben" by Michael Jackson. Mom sang this as a solo way back when. And for those of you who don't know...my mom has a beautiful, beautiful voice.



Memory With Dad: The "Come Away With Me" album by Norah Jones. We were driving back from an away game in high school and it was pouring down rain. It was so appropriate for the weather and the chill atmoshphere with him. Again, that's one of many memories with my Dad, but I have music attached to that one.



Convicting: "Legacy" by Nichole Nordeman and literally every single song by Keith Green. This man was anointed by God. Go listen to his music. Now.



Nostalgia: "Moments To Remember" by the Lettermen, "Magic Moments" by Perry Como, and any Christmas song. They make my heart so full.



Lullaby: See this post.



Spiritual Awakening: "In Christ Alone" by Stuart Townend



Movie Memory: "June Bride" from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. When I was watching this movie when I was little, my parents would always make me go to bed after this song, because it was about the halfway point of the movie, and it was usually my bedtime by then. I would BEG to stay awake "until the next song." :)


A Wonderful Memory: "Follow Through" by Gavin Degraw, "Out Tonight" from the Rent soundtrack, "You Found Me" by Kelly Clarkson, and "Mexico" by Jump Little Children were some of the songs I listened to during London semester. When I hear those songs and close my eyes, I'm back there. It's wonderful.

I'd love to see what some of your "songs" are. Let me know if you answer these!

Another Project

My friend Corrie asked me to do a header for her blog. She recently got married and is "starting over" with a new blog look. This header goes well with the pre-made template that she already picked. I hope you like it, Corrie! :)

Fall and Pumpkin Patch Fun

Happy Harvest!

Fall Tunes

Sooo...

I'm going to interrupt the holiday cheer on my music playlist. There are just some good Fall/Thanksgiving tunes that need their time to shine. Christmas melodies will be back, but I just like these for now.

Enjoy :)

Recent Pictures from our Cape Trip

Here are some of the pictures from our recent trip to Missouri :)

So happy with Uncle Will and Aunt Punky, but we missed Aunt Kay so much!

Muffy Sue was a HUGE hit during this visit. Evy let out this shrill screech everytime she saw one of the pets---it was too cute!

Playing with the Mickey Mouse that I played with when I was little (please tell me you're not surprised...)

Looking oh so stylish in the poncho that Papa and Gigi picked out in Chicago. Only the latest styles, thank you.

Lynwood is so beautiful in the fall!

And.....the big reveal: our house!

That's me in front of the sign that says "Contract Pending!" We plan on painting the shutters a more neutral color, but we just love it. It's perfect. God-willing, this will be our next home. Of course it's not 100% yet, but we do have a contract!


I've got some great fall pictures coming....I just need to sit down, edit them, and get them onto the blog :) Stay tuned!

Nana and Poppy's Visit

We had so much fun when Nana and Poppy came to visit recently!


We loved having Nana and Poppy here. Evy showed them her favorite Christmas Praise Baby DVD and even danced a little to the music. We ate at Mint, a wonderful restaurant here in town which was a real treat for us---thank you Nana and Poppy!

We even showed off our sticking-out-the-tongue trick:

Nana brought Mommy and Evy lots of happies, including Christmas things! Evy loves to watch her snowman dance and sing, and loves her little musical scene that plays Christmas carols (okay, Mommy likes them a lot too....).

Come again soon, Nana and Poppy! We love you and miss you! See you Thanksgiving!

So.....here's the deal.

Basically, I spoke too soon.

We fell in love with the new computer, except for one tiny detail. It wouldn't read any DVD's or CD's. Basically, that drive was broken (and yes, we tried everything and called in professional help). So we now have to send back the computer to get fixed. No bueno.

However, we have this superhero friend named Brad (who's married to the wonderful Jennilee), and he is loaning us an extra laptop they had lying around (no kidding) until we can get ours in. I mean, is that a true friend or what!?

So.

I'm still going to try to get some pictures edited and onto the blog (because said superhero Brad gave me permission to download Photoshop onto the laptop). Kurt and I just had to laugh. It's SO our luck! But I told Kurt yesterday that, as trite as it sounds, I have a healthy baby. And honestly, an ailing computer just doesn't get me worked up like it would have 9 months ago before I had my precious daughter.

Just thought I'd let you know what's going on....we just can't seem to catch a break on the technology front!

In other news, I have no voice. As in, I'm whispering. A couple of days ago I thought I had the flu. One minute I was fine, and literally the next minute I was in bed with full body aches and a sore throat so bad I couldn't stand it. But I never had fever, or any other symptoms. I really believe I have the terrific bronchitis/laryngitis combo. Super.

Also, I went to Mistletoe Marketplace today! I go every year, and it just brings in the season. I got several gifts and even one or two things for myself. I was so glad that I didn't feel the pressure to buy Evy all the cute outfits I saw---Kurt's mom is SO incredibly talented and can literally make anything I dream up. I am SO BLESSED!!!!

Tomorrow Jennilee (as mentioned above) is taking our family Christmas picture for our Christmas card. I know they'll be super cute!

Have a great weekend :)

Kelly's Tour---Thanksgiving Traditions

Thanksgiving to me means family! Last year we spent the actual day of Thanksgiving with my family, and this year we'll be with Kurt's. We try to see both sides of our families every holiday, but we alternate which family gets the actual DAY, if that makes sense. As you can see, I was pregnant last year (hard to believe!).

So, in a nutshell, here's what Thanksgiving is like:

We watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade (my favorite is the Broadway cast performances).

The girls cook.

My dad cleans.

We set a beautiful table.



After the festivities, we decorate for Christmas.



And usually take the annual Christmas card picture because our whole family is together.

It's wonderful. And I have so much to be thankful for this year!