About the Author: #9

9. She’s an Incredible Daughter. If you haven’t yet guessed family is a big deal to me. I was fortunate to grow up in a family that absolutely loves each other. Don’t get me wrong we weren’t/aren’t perfect but we do love each other. It was important to me to see how much Kelli loves her family from the outset of our relationship. One of the ways this has played itself out is in her relationship with her mom. Just a few posts back I talked about the responsibility she took on to help with her sisters while her mom was finishing school, so in this post I wanted to highlight another period of time that speaks to her love for her Mom. A year and a half after Kel and I got married we were in Joplin where Kelli was working as an RN (despite having passed out during the interview) and I was finishing school. For a couple of years leading up to that time Kelli’s Mom had had increasingly sever hip issues (to be clear, I’m not talking about the struggle to figure out social media. The issues to which I am referring were actually related to her hips). Laura’s dad (Kelli’s grandpa) had had hip replacements and Laura’s sister has had several. So it runs in the family. As it became increasingly evident that Laura needed a hip replacement, so it did that someone would need to take care of her and Chloe because Laura would not be able to move, much less drive, for quite some time after such a surgery. Kelli and I talked about it and we made the decision for Kelli to move back to Muskogee for a couple of months and take care of her Mom and sister. For those of you wondering, here’s what we know: we know that Kelli’s commitment is to me above her mom and sisters and mine is to her above my parents and siblings. We also know that our commitment to Jesus and His Kingdom supersedes any desire to be close to family. However, we found ourselves in a position and a time in our lives where Kelli could help out and love on her family. I was taking 25 hrs of classes that semester and traveling to Tulsa every weekend for my YM position anyway. We knew that we would likely not be this close to family forever and may never again find ourselves in a position where we can be so readily available. So for a semester, Kelli and I jumped, yet again, into a long distance relationship. She would come to Tulsa on the weekends while I was there and then on Sunday or Monday we would part ways for another 5 days so that she could love her family in a practical way. She loves her family. And I love it.

About the Author: 14 and 13

Kelli once had me stalk Trav. Read on.

14. She loves the news. I know this is similar to the weather one. But they really are different. Kelli watches the news like everyone else does in the wake of a disaster or something; with fervor. The only difference is that Kelli watches the news like this all the time. Regardless of whether something important is actually going on or if the city council is voting on whether or not to lower curb height by .25 inches, Kelli wants to know about it. She wants to be informed and regards the informers as celebrities. That’s right, the news anchors. Well, not just anchors, also correspondents, meteorologists, camera crew, etc... I can’t tell you how many times Kelli has called me from Target barely able to breathe because she just saw Julie Chin. And for the sake of clarification, I am talking about Tulsa local channel 2 weather girl Julie Chin, not CBS producer and anchor Julie ChEn. There’s a difference. She once spotted Travis Meyer at El Guapo and briefly lost the ability to speak or do anything else but make funny faces at the rest of us and shake her hands violently trying to get our attention to inform us that we were in the presence or greatness. Another time we ran into Travis Meyer (Trav as Kelli calls him. Seriously.) at P.F. Chang’s. He walked out shortly before a woman and a couple girls (presumably the woman’s daughters) walked out and Kelli made me go outside to see if they were getting in a car together so we could know if that was his family. It was. At CIY Believe conference last year channel 6 was covering another event in the Convention Center. At one point, Dan Bewley walked through the relatively empty main corridor where we were. Kel spotted him when he was about 70 feet away from us (walking away from us) and said to us excitedly, “That’s Dan! That’s Dan!” and then before I knew what was happening she was yelling, “Hey Dan! Woo Woot!”. Here’s a challenge ladies, come up with a better way to make your husband question everything about himself than “Woo Wooting” this guy. I’ll bet you can’t. I love that, in the presence of local news reporters, Kelli is reduced to a 7th grade girl at a bieber concert. I love her.

in my defense (this is kelli adding in my viewpoint on the woot-wooting topic), we were at a jr. high conference surrounded by HIGH energy and i kind of got sucked into that moment, and before i could stop myself, i was hollering across a hallway! it may be 1 of my top 5 embarrassing moments in life!

13. She has a blankie. I’m pretty sure said blankie earned itself it’s own blog post at some point so I won't spend a lot of time here. It’s all true. She has had it forever, she took it on our honeymoon, it’s in our bed every night. It’s to the point where I would feel weird if it weren’t. Go ahead, judge her. But I love her.

Edit: About the Author #16

So last night I apparently repeated one that I had already posted...oops. Since I've been doing 2 at a time I've had to rearrange the schedule a bit. Ok, here's the real number 16:

16. She’s an incredible sister. It’s true. I mean, an incredible sister. Kelli grew up a little bit faster than most kids. When she was 16 she started taking on a lot of responsibility around the house. Her mom was going back to school and her sisters couldn’t drive so most of Kel’s new responsibilities centered around Lauren and Chloe. Was she perfect? No. Was she still a sister? Yes. They fought about all the things sisters fight about (clothes). But still the way she looked after and loved on her sisters caught my attention very early on and I always knew it was the way I wanted my future wife to treat her siblings. We started dating about the same time Kelli took on her new responsibilities and it has always been on my list of things I adore about her. Even now, they live in separate cities, Kelli is still selfless and sacrificial in their relationships. They are best friends, and I love watching them together.

About the Author: 15

Ok, so blogspot was being weird and somehow managed to delete my original 16/15 post after the 16 post edit. Anyway, here's number 15...again.


15. She’s an amazing cook. Holy crap. I mean, you’ve seen her tasty Tuesday entries, right? I like to go out and eat, but I like it more when Kelli cooks. Just a few of my favorites are Roast, Stew, Brown Beans and Ham, Callazone, Chicken Spaghetti, Taco Soup, I could keep going and keep going. Oh yeah, and pumpkin muffins. Can’t forget the pumpkin muffins. And I just adore her.

About the Author: 18 and 17

Whew! Almost for got to post these today. And they're two of my favorites!!

18. What breaks her heart. Tony Campolo once quoted his boss (can’t remember his name) as saying, “You aren’t really a Christian until your heart is broken by the things that break the heart of God.” There are two main things that will break Kelli’s heart to the point of weeping every single time. 1. People being far from Jesus. Perhaps this is why she is so understanding of my schedule and my job. She knows what is at stake. On more than one occasion I have prayed with Kelli for a friend or someone she knows that is not following Jesus and living in the light of His grace and mercy. She cries. She can’t sleep. She can hardly function. She prays. 2. Sick or hurting children. Have you ever written a blog detailing your child’s health struggles? I assure you that if Kelli read your blog (and she probably does given that I don’t think one exists that she doesn’t read) she has wept with you and prays for you and your child daily. I often just walk in a room and Kelli is on the computer crying as she reads a blog or watches TV about little Josie Duggar. Sometimes we’ll be watching TV or a movie and I’m wrapped up in it and I look over and find Kelli, once again, eyes full of tears as she reads the story of a baby or child struggling with health issues. I confess, I used to say stuff like, “Kelli, if it is going to make you that sad then why would you read it? Just stop reading!” But somewhere along the lines I realized that her heart is broken by the things that break the heart of God and she can’t stop reading because she prays as she reads and is far too concerned to not keep updated on how the baby and the family are doing.

17. She loves the weather. She has always said she wanted to be a meteorologist (man you don’t realize how many syllables that word has in it until you type it). The truth is, she loves weather way to much to ever be a meteorologist. She loves anything out of the ordinary. She doesn’t always enjoy the tornadoes and such, but I think she just loves the drama that they bring. What she does love is a good snow. She’ll settle for a good rain, but she loves a good snow. Anyone ever been frustrated by all the snow and/or ice in the winter? If you live in Tulsa (or Muskogee in 07) you can blame my wife and her prayer life. Yes, she prays for it. She loves gray days and any type of weather that make people slow down their hurried pace and grab a book. She must watch the weather at LEAST once a day, she has even been known to dvr it, she references weather people by first name in conversation with people who have no idea what she’s talking about, she makes fun of me for not having a firm grasp of things like differential motion or the adiabatic process, she loves it. And I love that she loves it.

About the Author: 20 and 19

A couple of stories for 20 & 19

20. She’s an awesome nurse. This is interesting because Kelli would tell you that there are not a lot of things in this world at which she is exceptionally gifted. She would be wrong, but she would still say that. One of the things at which she excelled is nursing. I say excelled because she doesn’t do it on a professional level anymore (just taking care of me and the boys). Instead, we are blessed that she is able to be a stay at home mom (sahm?). However, when she was doing it, she was awesome. She got her first nursing job when we moved to Joplin. She didn’t have a great interview (more on that in a bit), but the interviewer still saw fit to call her references. They were her nursing instructors from school. Her interviewer would later tell Kelli that they raved about Kelli and insisted that if they, or any of their loved ones were ever in the hospital, Kelli is the nurse they would want looking after them. She was hired and worked on the cardiology floor, primarily with old people. Kelli has an incredible natural way with older people that makes them feel comfortable. It’s because Kelli loves them and genuinely cares about them. She gives them the attention they deserve. These things coupled with her technical nursing prowess made her an awesome nurse. This is so cool now because in a house of boys, especially clumsy ones, Kelli is so level headed in the inevitable event of an injury.

19. Her knack for loosing consciousness. No other way to say so I’ll just say it, Kelli tends to pass out in tense situations. Sure, like a fainting goat if that helps you. A couple of stories: While we were engaged I was interning for CIY and Kel and I hadn’t seen each other in quite a while. She came up to Joplin or an evening but we didn’t really have anywhere to hang out. We went up to the mall parking lot to sit in my car and visit. Seriously. Just talking. We even parked under a street light. Well the mall had been closed for an hour or so so the security guards didn’t like us sitting their. They got us out of the car and separated us to give Kelli and chance to let the guard talking to her that she was here against her will (she wasn’t). Anyway while I’m talking to my guard I hear the other guy yelling, “She’s going down!” and turn around to see my fiance passing out in the parking lot. It made me look awesome. Next story: Remember that interview I said didn’t go too well? Right. Kelli was being interviewed and was feeling increasingly stressed about the whole situation. It ended in her waking up to the instructor and some other people helping her into her chair and the interviewer asking her, “Do you want to finish?”. Not a good sign. There are a lot more stories, but those are for a later time.

best birthday yet...

this was seriously the best birthday yet! it was such a great, laid-back kind of day. somethings happened in the past year where i just enjoy special days as they happen instead of dreading the end of them or putting high expectations on the day. it only took 25 years...ha :)

i got the morning off when lane offered to take canon to speech and school. i was able to take my time getting myself and ledger ready for the day. unfortunately, my children missed the memo that there is to be no whining on mommy's birthday. they both woke up super grumpy.
i randomly found little notes sitting around the house from my thoughtful hubby. one on the coffee pot said we had a date at panera after he dropped canon off. panera's my favorite currently for breakfast or lunch or snack! i chose to have lunch since it was 10:30 and i had a few hours of errands ahead of me. lane got breakfast. ledger mooched off both of us...big shocker there.

ledger and i had about 5 stops, including grocery shopping. he's such a good shopping buddy when he has snacks and his blankie. i am enjoying our one on one time we get a couple of times a week. we ran home to drop off groceries, fed the ledge some lunch and then picked up canon. ledger loves going to pick him up. i really miss canon while he's at school.
that night, lane's dad had a meeting in tulsa so his mom offered to come watch the kids for us so we could go out for awhile by ourselves. we love the times we are able to do this. we had the best time for those 2 hours. i feel like it was the perfect reconnect over frozen yogurt...yum!
i got a free drink postcard from starbucks in the mail for my birthday and thought i had to use it on my birthday so we headed over there and went through the drive thru. lane asked what i could get for the free drinnk and the guy said any drink, any size. so i got a venti decaf white mocha. i would never spend $4.25 on a drink!! lane paid for his small coffee and started to hand the guy the postcard. he wouldn't take it and told us to keep it! the whole ride home i kept, at random, smiling and saying how that guy blessed me. can't wait to go use it again :)also, i wanted to show you guys 2 great gifts i received. my sweet friend, beth, gave me these awesome rainboots. i LOVE them. it's something i've always wanted, but never bought myself! and the cute scarf is from one of my small group girls, madison. she reminds me so much of myself and is so thoughtful. they both know me well...i'm loving houndstooth right now!
i am so thankful for all the blessings i have. i'm also thankful for all the kind words that were said to me on my special day! i loved reading all the tweets, emails, facebook messages, cards, and text messages throughout the day. i loved talking to those who called me :) thanks for making me feel uber special!!

About the Author: 22&21

As we continue our list of things I love about Kelli, we'll get into two very important things. One because it is vital to my life, and one because it is vital to my sanity. I love ministry, and I love laughing.

22. Her passion for Youth Ministry. This manifests itself in a few different ways. With two little boys, often Kel’s involvement with the ym is more limited than she would like it to be. Still, she makes sure she has time to be at the SUMMIT (middle school service), A|Zero (high school service) and to lead her HS girls small group every Monday night at our house. After church on Sunday mornings as well as Wednesday nights, Kelli picks the boys up from the nursery and is surrounded by MS and HS students playing with the boys and talking with Kelli. She loves this. I know that every week tons of students watch Kelli be the mom that God has called her to be...more on that later. Another way this manifests itself is through her understanding of my, often hectic, schedule. My job (which I love) requires a lot of flexibility from both myself, and Kelli. I travel frequently and am on call 24/7 (there are times when I just shut off my phone, btw). Kelli is so understanding and so committed to youth ministry that she is willing to put up with a schedule like mine, even though it often goes completely against the detailed planner inside her. I just adore her.

21. She makes up words to songs. Kelli sings a lot. That said, lyrical retention is not one of her strong points. This makes for very entertaining moments. And just so you don’t imagine this being a once in a while type of thing, this is a daily occurrence. Most recently I think she linked up the lyrics to a Matt Redman song and what I think was Mamba #5. She doesn’t realize she’s doing this. She just starts singing and then songs blend together to make some type of hybrid. Or she just makes up words all together assuming they’re correct. It happens often and is ALWAYS hilarious. And I adore her.

About the Author: 24 and 23

I was talking to Kelli yesterday and she insisted that 25 days would get old for people so she wants me to post 2-3 per day. The truth is she just really wants to see what I wrote and I won't let her read them until I post them on the blog. So she doesn't want to wait 25 days. In any case, it's her birthday week (that's right) so I obliged.

24. Her eyes. I know I know. This is cheesy and sappy. But it’s the truth. I have been taken by her eyes for as long as I can remember. They are this gorgeous, dark, chocolate brown that tell every one of her emotions without needing any help from any other features. Especially when she smiles. For a brief second, before they disappear because she smiles so big, her eyes tell the whole story. I just love it. I adore her.

23. Her humor. Speaking of smiling...few things make Kelli smile more than a good joke...nothing sophisticated here, Kelli prefers old man jokes. Understand I’m not talking about jokes with old men as the subjects, but rather jokes old men would tell. You know, "Where does the general put his armies? In his sleevies." That kind of thing. I suspect she would fit in great at the lodge. I told Kelli that a guy walked into a bar and said “ouch” the other day and she thought I should go on tour. This bodes well for our good friend Jake Epperson, by the way, because he’s got nothing if not a head full of laffy-taffy jokes. And preachers. It bodes well for preachers, too. It's also great for me because she tends to think I'm hilarious regardless of whether or not I'm bringing my best material that day. I love that about her. I adore her.

About the Author: 25

I know it may seem weird for there to be an entire blog post entitled about the author nearly two and a half years into the blogs existence, but on this, the author’s 25th birthday, it only seems fitting that I tell you a little about the woman behind the blog. Oh, sorry, this is Lane. Not Kelli. Most of you know me, but some of you do not. For those of you that do not, I am the eternally grateful husband of this blogger mom (I can’t remember the cool technical lingo for the term “blogger mom”. “Blom”?), I am the proud daddy of the two boys about whom you so often read, and I am the delighted consumer of the “Tasty Tuesday” treats. But enough about me...

There are about 3.89 billion things I love about Kelli. But I’ll go with 25 since...well...you get it. So here they are (in no particular order).

Edit: I wrote this a couple of weeks ago and it ended up being reeeaallllyyy long. So I decided I will post 1 a day for 25 days. Also, A couple of days ago Kelli started talking about doing a post on 25 things you should know about her...this bummed me out a bit but hopefully you will find some new stuff in what I write and maybe I can expound a bit on any overlap...

25. It started with a dance. It seems fitting that I would start by telling you how “it” started. And by “it” I mean Kelli and I’s history. We’ve known each other forever. Think Kindergarten/1st grade. My very first memory of Kelli is of her dancing in the middle of our school’s “learning center”. Those of you that know Kelli at all are immediately skeptical because if there’s one thing Kelli doesn’t do, it’s dance in public. Maybe that’s why it caught my eye. I was in 2nd grade and I was bending over the water fountain pretending to take a very long drink (milking time out of my desk) when I noticed little Kelli in her little uniform breaking it down at the scoring table (where we graded our work). I stopped what I was doing to watch the show (she’s quite the dancer) when all of a sudden she got very still and the reason for her groove became evident...in the form of a small puddle at her feet. Yes. She peed her pants (skirt to be accurate). Now don’t go judging her, she was in first grade. We all have that story (ask me about the time I was selling raffle tickets for my 12 and under baseball team). All I know, is that is the absolute, very first memory I have of Kelli, and I was hooked. 14 years later, I married her. And I adore her.