Introducing...

Introducing....

Miles Lucas Kidd... I'm kidding, the boy is already 6 months old. And if you have social media at all you would know that I have done my part at being an overly proud, crazy in love momma who is unashamed of keeping the general public well informed of his napping, sleeping, nursing, eating, and all around cuteness shenanigans. I guess you could say that I am introducing that sweet boy of mine to this blog. It's been way too long since I posted and I really want to use this blog as a bit of a journal for our family of now 3. If not for you, then at least for me!

You must let me start by being super cheesy about how much we love our son. What a blessing from our Father above. Gavin and I plan to love this boy relentlessly and we've been busy doing just that everyday since we found out he was coming. There is nothing more precious in this world than that baby. Funny side note, "that baby" is often what Gavin calls him! Ha! There are not enough words to describe the joy that he has brought to my heart and the new purpose that God has placed on my life through that baby. And how much more my heart has grown to love my Heavenly Father. It is truly a crazy love! Miles reminds me daily of His love for me and I have no choice but to rejoice in this truth! Wow! That my futile attempt at describing the blessing of motherhood, now on to the other stuff!

It's been a very busy 7 months. We had a baby (obvi), we celebrated his first Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine's day, Easter, both grandmother's birthdays, and attended 3 weddings. Other notable adventures include a flight to Miles' place of conception (Las Vegas) to go on a proper "first hike," Kidd style of course! There has been a lot of back and forth travel from Atlanta to Birmingham to Lake Martin to make sure that Miles is properly adored by any and all family members. I plan to back post these adventures, but I want to include pictures with my posts. And y'all, I have soooooo many pictures. Like no less than 4,632 4,635. My computer and my iPhone have been screaming at me about my memory use, "no more space available to take yet another picture of your baby doing the exact same thing that you took a picture of him doing 30 seconds ago," or something like that.... Sheesh, someone buy me more space already!!! Make that 4,638 pictures. I.can't.stop. 

My days have been filled with exhaustion, nursing while surfing social media with my available hand,  laundry, microwaved sweet potatoes and scrambled eggs, baby giggles, baby smiles, baby screams, reading, diaper changing, walks in the stroller, more nursing while surfing more social media with my available hand, and more laundry. I feel like the rest of the world has gone on without me (and I'm okay with that) while I've been figuring out this whole mom thing. I also feel like I know way too much about other people's lives- I've considered a hiatus from fb and Instagram but feel torn due to the fact that I so hugely enjoy sharing my baby's cuteness with the world.  I've read parenting books about scheduling (in the middle of my short nights). The word schedule has driven me completely insane some weeks. It feels like what this woman says. I am happy to report that little man has started to figure it all out, with a little help from those books. He naps and goes to sleep right at 8 pm. This is huge! HUGE! We used to go to bed at midnight- it was terrible. But, we've graduated to having a "schedule" and the pride that it brings me is so great. It's the days where my scheduling goes perfectly, and all the dishes and laundry are clean and put away, I've worked out for all of about 10 minutes, I took a shower without a baby audience, I've made time for mascara, and I've eaten small meals of only organic foods that I announce with absolute certainty that I will need no less than 5 more babies. And I really mean it. And Gavin hates me, pleads with me, bargains with me. And then my scheduling doesn't go so well, I overspend at the grocery store, and I feel too fat in my fat pants. I start to think that maybe a minimum of 6 babies is really pushing the budget, my sanity, and my all important yet still too expanded waist-line. Lord, I give you full control and I will continue to pray for any future children you choose to bless us with (and maybe multiples while I have your attention). Kidding, I think?

Also noteworthy is how becoming a new parents means that I have now joined the "never say never" club with distinguished honors. I have been working on a whole post on the many ways that I do things  that I formerly said "Oh, I'll never do that" with judgement in my voice. What a stupid, misguided, childless girl I was. Now I never say never, but more on that another day.  

I hope to use this blog as a way to document Miles growing while everything is changing so quickly. I have been keep updates on a document on my laptop, but what kind of proud momma would I be if I didn't share his cuteness? Like I said, we are madly in love with our blessing from above. Hope you enjoy!

Blessings.

37+ Weeks

Happy October... and Happy Birth-Month to us!
So, I am exactly 37 weeks and 4 days pregnant today... and for those of you who don't do math that means we have a little less than 3 weeks left! To say that I am unprepared and stressed is an understatement!

Since I last posted we have moved into our new home and we LOVE it! But it is not at all put together or ready for bringing home the baby. Since we are renting and unsure of how long we will be staying, it is hard to decide how to decorate (or make it homey since I'm not claiming to even know how to decorate)! We have been settling in for the past few weeks, but I feel overwhelmed by all of the things that I think should be completed before the baby gets here. I ordered our crib as soon as we moved into our house (I didn't order it earlier because I didn't have my own home to put it in) and I was really looking forward to putting it together and imagining our sweet baby in it. But, due to all of the excitement and imagining I accidentally ordered it to our former rental house in Las Vegas. Oh no! We had one of Gavin's co-workers pick it up and we are currently working on getting to to Atlanta. So thankful for good friends in Las Vegas! 

And, we still don't have a name. Or an idea for a name! AH! Oh well, it will all work out. I can only  be so prepared for something like a baby that will completely change my world in ways I cannot even begin to imagine. I can't wait to meet him and kiss his sweet little face and hands and feet... the same little feet that have been kicking me in the ribs for the past few months! And I'm super excited to be adding pictures of his sweet self on this blog instead of updates on my pregnancy! 

A few Sunday's ago, my girlfriends threw me and baby a shower and it was such a blast! They gave me so many wonderful gifts... our growing family is so blessed to have such an amazing support system of friends and family! Baby got all kinds of new clothes and blankets. And, my aunt and cousins gave us a Pack and Play so if our crib never arrives at least baby has a place to sleep! I loved getting to see some friends that I haven't been able to see in a long time... so good for my heart! A few days after the shower my sweet friend Jessica came to stay the night with us to see our house and hang out before the baby gets here. So crazy to think that something like spending the day with a friend will never be quite as easy again. 

A week ago, Baby Kidd and I were honored at another shower in Peachtree City and it was a blast. I am so overwhelmed by the people in our lives who want to help us out! There are so many things to get for baby and I am so thankful that we have loving people who want to help us out. I really don't know how you could do this without great family and friends! 

Gavin and I also got away for a night in Savannah with another couple. I hadn't been to Savannah since the sixth grade and it was as beautiful as I imagined. A special thanks to Gavin, Alex, and Jennifer for putting up with sight-seeing with this 9 1/2 months pregnant girl- I'm not moving too quickly these days! 

I also packed our bag for the hospital! All of the packing reminded me that I need to get all of our cameras charged and to empty all of the memory cards for the billions of pictures that we will be taking! I feel like I am rambling, and thank you if you have read this far! 

Missing anything? I'm still missing coffee, but I am getting use to decaf now. I still miss sleeping on my back also. 

Movement? Yes, all the time. Gavin even says that baby kicks so hard that he shakes the bed at night. I guess I am used to it because I have been sleeping right through it.  

Cravings? No cravings.

Anything making you sick? No, thankfully!

Gender: Boy!

Symptoms: I have been having the same nausea that I had in the first trimester, but I haven't been sick. The nausea just gets a little old throughout the day.  

Belly Button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? Off... I don't want it to get stuck.

Looking forward to: Getting our house and baby's nursery ready for his arrival. And, I just can't wait to meet him!

Name: Nope!  

31 Weeks

So today I am 31 weeks and I am getting antsy already! I have been feeling really great with the exception of how tired I have felt by the middle of every afternoon. It is crazy how tired I am getting, but if that is that most that I can complain about then I am pretty blessed. We have been really busy trying to figure out what car to drive and where to live. We found and bought an old Volvo and ended up trading it in after only 3 days. We ended up finding a pretty good deal on a VW Jetta Sportwagen TDI and we have really loved owning a diesel!

We are still with Gavin's wonderful, gracious parents right now and will be until the end of the month. It was a pretty stressful ordeal finding a house to live in and I am thankful to the good Lord above for saving me from even one more day of that stress. I am really happy to say that we have found a place to live and we will be moving in at the beginning of September. We sign the lease tomorrow and I am so excited to get settled in and ready for our little man!

Luckily we have had some time to spend with friends and family, so the process has not been all chores and stress. We have had time to spend with both of our families, all of our siblings, and quite a few old friends. We still haven't had a chance to escape to my parent's house at Lake Martin yet, but I think we are going to have time now that we have most of our chores out of the way! Gavin and I, along with his parents, flew to Virginia over the weekend for a small family get-together. It was great getting so see family members that we haven't seen in way too long.

I am getting excited for fall, cooler temperatures, seeing my best friends, pumpkin spice lattes, Auburn football, and of course getting to meet our baby boy!

Missing anything? I'm still missing coffee, but I am getting use to decaf now. I still miss sleeping on my back also. 

Movement? Yes, lots! He likes to kick me in the ribs and my bladder. 

Cravings? No cravings.

Anything making you sick? No, thankfully!

Gender: Boy!

Symptoms: None at the moment. 

Belly Button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? Off... I don't want it to get stuck.

Looking forward to: Moving into our own house to settle in and get ready for baby. I also can't wait for fall, seeing my friends from college, and Auburn football.

Name: I have names, Gav has names. We don't like each other's names! Pray for us!

25 Weeks

So much has been happening lately! Since I last posted, we said goodbye to Las Vegas and waved hello Atlanta. We started packing up our house into boxes and it took 3 days to load the Penske rental truck- 3 days!!! I was not able to help lift anything, so we were lucky enough to have our good friends Crystalyn and Erik help us load the truck and clean the house. The first day all of our furniture was packed into the back of the truck which left us camping out in our own house... kind of a neat way to spend our last few nights! It was a long process making sure that everything was packed well. It was a 26 foot truck with a trailer to tow my car home.

We pulled out at 9:15 Sunday morning and headed towards Arizona. We went 700 miles in 12 hours that day. That is an average of 58 miles per hour. Our truck would only go about 30-35 miles per hour up any hill. Oh my.... it was a long trip. All in all, we drove from Las Vegas to Flagstaff to Albuquerque  to Amarillo to Oklahoma City to Little Rock to Memphis to Birmingham and then Atlanta. It was a little over 2,000 miles! I think that it was the third time for each of us to make that drive. The truck was really loud inside and we had to shout to be able to hear each other. I am glad to be done with that truck! We arrived on Tuesday night tired and hungry. Gavin's parents were waiting to welcome us with dinner on the table. It was no nice to be done with driving. We were sad to leave Las Vegas but thankful for traveling mercies, a warm bed and showers.

We had not been home for more than 3 hours before I fell down the stairs. Luckily I didn't hit my belly but I was worried about the baby regardless. The next day (the 4th of July), I called the doctor and they had me go into the hospital for observation to make sure that the baby was okay. Thankfully he was. I learned my lesson and I will now be using handrails!!

It has been really nice to catch up with both of our parents and a few friends just in the short time that we have been home. Gavin has a pretty long commute to work so we use the mornings to search for a good place to live and check craigslist for used cars. So many decisions to make in such a short time!

As of this past Thursday I am 25 weeks. Baby boy has been kicking like crazy. Gavin's parents have even been able to feel him moving! Just before we left Las Vegas I had an appointment where I could see his little face in a 3D ultrasound. Normally he has his hands in front of his face and I was so excited to see his sweet little nose. I tried to upload the picture (and a few others) to this post but my phone is not cooperating. We still don't have a name that we both love and we are still taking suggestions! All in all I have felt great and I really love to feel him kick and watch my belly move... it may be the most amazing this ever! I am going to try to register for baby things this week. I have been putting it off because there are so many things out there that we need that I know so little about. From baby monitors to strollers and car seats to what kind of diapers we want to use it a lot to learn about in such a short time. I think that husband and I will be learning by trial and error and that is terrifying and super exciting all at the same time. 

Missing anything? I think that lately I have missed being able to exercise with a heart rate over 130/130 beats per minute. I also miss coffee! 

Movement? Yes, lots!

Cravings? Pineapple

Anything making you sick? No, thankfully!

Gender: Boy!

Symptoms: None at the moment. 

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Looking forward to: Getting to see more friends and family. And also finding a place to live, picking out a new car or two, and getting settled in before the baby gets here.

Name: We have nothing.

22 Weeks

Hey there! Life has been crazy but really exciting. The husband and I have a Las Vegas departure date of July 1st. We will be driving cross country over the long 4th of July weekend. We are planning on staying with his parents until we find a place to buy or rent... whichever we are able to do before the baby arrives. We have been busy packing boxes and getting things ready to leave. I had lunch with my wonderful friends and once co-workers yesterday as a goodbye lunch that turned into a sweet surprise baby shower. I was so blown away by their love for me and my growing family. God blessed me with such wonderful friends and I am going to miss them terribly. This is a picture of all of the amazing things that they gave to Baby Kidd. Forgive the picture quality.

 

Missing anything? I still miss sleeping on my back and my stomach. I miss fitting into normal clothes also! 

Movement? Yes, lots!

Cravings? SUGAR! Lots of sugar!

Anything making you sick? No, thankfully!

Gender: Boy!

Symptoms: I have had some round ligament pain on my right side. I also forgot to mention on my last post that I have an ever-present metallic taste in my mouth... maybe this is the reason that I am always craving something sweet!

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Looking forward to: We are still looking forward to seeing friends and family back in the South and hopefully finding the perfect home to call our own.

Name: We have nothing. We are open to suggestions. Gav's criteria is that our son should have a name that is really uncommon. My criteria is that the name doesn't sound ridiculous (I used to have higher standards, but after talking with Gavin I have realized that they needed to be lowered; he doesn't much care for my long list of 20 names I have already selected). 

20 Weeks

We are half way there! It is hard to believe that we will be meeting our sweet little baby in only 5 more months. It seems so short and it seems forever long! I should back up and say that I have made a few posts that just never made it on here. Our official due date is October 18th. Finding out we were pregnant was so exciting. Gavin was really excited but he agreed to wait until we were 3 months along before we shared the big news. He lasted 6 days before he told his parents and 8 days before he told mine! I loved how excited (could I use that word any more?) he was but it made it so hard to keep it a secret from everybody else in the meantime. I ended up sharing the news with my brother and his fiance after we were only 2 months along because they were trying to schedule their wedding only a few weeks after our due date. I got to tell my sister in person right at 14 weeks and that was really exciting for me. Our friends and family have been really supportive and I am so thankful for all of the prayers.

The baby started kicking last week and I can feel it all the time! It is the craziest feeling! We had our full anatomy check and the baby is growing perfectly at this point and I could not be happier. I told Gavin from the very beginning that I did not want to find out if the baby was going to be a boy or a girl until we get to meet our baby in person. Gav was not happy with this. He was also all but refusing to talk about baby names and kept saying "I can't pick out a name unless I know what we are having." So we made the agreement that we could find out the sex of the baby and he would have to start participating in the naming process. So, yesterday we found out that we are having a baby boy! We had both been very sure that we were going to be having a girl from the very beginning, but neither of us cared either way. I think that we were both surprised to hear the news. I think that it has taken me a little longer to get used to the idea that we are having a boy because I was really sure that we would have a girl. I keep thinking about all of the fun things that we are going to get to do with him. I am praying that everything about this boy is exactly like Gavin (And I know that this means that I will have a really hyper toddler... it will be so much fun)! I really can't wait for October to get here! 

But back to discussing this baby's name... We have nothing! Really, nothing. I don't think that we really like the same names at this point. I like family names and he likes names that no one else has. I know that we will find something perfect though, and I am not in any hurry. 

In other big news, we are being transferred to Atlanta. Gavin is to start working no later than July 1st so that means that we have about 2 to 3 weeks to pack up our lives and head south to stay with Gavin's parents. It is really bittersweet news. I was pretty sure that we would not be getting transfered and I was focusing on having the baby here in Las Vegas. I guess I am learning that since getting pregnant, my intuitions have been seriously wrong. I think that the news started out as more bitter because we are in love with the life that we have out here. We have seriously had the time of our lives and a million great adventures together and with wonderful friends. The more I think about it, the more I realize that being home with our families as we are starting our own family is important to us. We really are blessed with the opportunity to come home and start this chapter with our families. Wow... I am just trying not to think about all of the wonderful, God-sent friends that we have in our lives and the packing and cleaning that are going to have to get done. I am focusing on all of the amazing friends and family that we have back home that we will get to say way more often! 

I think that that is all of the news that I have to share right now. I will add some pictures once I download them. 

Missing anything? Sleeping on my stomach or back. I am not suppose to, but I still wake up on my back sometimes. Well, I am doing my best! 

Movement? Yes, lots!

Cravings? SUGAR! I wasn't much of a sugar person before I got pregnant but I crave it all the time now. I also miss coffee... so bad! And sushi! Basically anything that I am not suppose to have it what I am wanting right now!

Anything making you sick? No, thankfully!

Gender: Boy!

Symptoms: I have had some round ligament pain (the ligament that holds the uterus in place), but only on the right side. If I sleep with pillows propped just right then I am able to get comfortable. 

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Looking forward to: Finding the perfect name and starting to buy our sweet boy some cute things (You know, like overalls and a wedding outfit for his uncle's wedding!). 

Easter Weekend

I truly love Easter weekend and the weather has been absolutely beautiful here is Las Vegas. Husband and I are planning to attend the 6 am sunrise service and then enjoy a nice lunch before he heads off to work in the afternoon. I have spent a little bit of time thinking about our Easter menu this year. It is hard to plan a holiday menu for 2, but I am hopeful that we will be home in Georgia soon so I want to embrace the challenge. I can't help but think of Easter with my parents with a table full of delicious foods. My dad always cooks the most delicious lamb and my mom has beautiful and colorful sides to go with it. So not only am I making this meal for 2, but my main critic is a committed vegan. I am back to eating meat, but I don't think I will be eating lamb any time in the near future. So what to cook? I did some internet surfin' to try to find vegan friendly some ideas that also felt "springy." And I found a vegan recipe for Carrot Cake. Nothing says spring to me like some fresh carrot cake. What are your plans for this Easter weekend? Any traditional Easter dishes at your house? No matter your plans, the important thing to remember is the very precious reason that we have an Easter to celebrate. God is so good and his love endures forever! Happy Easter Y'all!

I'm Back

I'm back! I love reading other people's blogs, and Gavin and I do some amazing things in our lives that I am ashamed at my lack of posting for the last year! So, this is me trying to get better at this. In the past year we celebrated our one year anniversary, hiked the tallest waterfall in the US, enjoyed a Highline "festival" in Moab, Utah, bought, sailed, and sold a sailboat, celebrated the weddings of a few dear friends, made new friends, and spent some quality time with old friends and family. God is good and has most certainly blessed us.

I can also report that I got a job... that I recently quit! I was working for a methadone clinic as a counselor for opiate addicted patients. I was incredibly challenging and yet so rewarding at the same time. Although I only spent about 5 months there I feel that I made some amazing friendships with my co-workers and learned so much about human compassion and God's inspiring ability to heal lives. I was working from 5 am to 1 pm and that coincided with Gavin's shift from 6 am to 2 pm. We decided that it was time to part ways with my job when Gavin's hours at work changed and we became ships passing in the night (or rather, mid-afternoon). It was really a challenge for us to go from so much quality time together down to essentially only 6-8 hours of time together per week. We decided that this was not what we wanted and made the change. I miss my co-workers although I only quit working about a week ago. Now on to whatever God has in store for my career.

We were able to spend the Thanksgiving holiday with our families at home and we had another Christmas out here in Las Vegas. Gavin had to work, but it was nice to celebrate together as a family of 2. We went home for a wedding in February, but other than that we have not had much time to spend with our families lately. We are planning on spending some time in Atlanta and Lake Martin around mid-April. I need some time with my mom, my grandmothers, and some of my girlfriends. A girl needs that, ya know? I am really looking forward to that trip and praying for good weather so that maybe my dad will take us out on the boat.

I think that that is about all that I have to update on off the top of my head. I am looking forward to spending more time with my wonderful husband and really jumping back into crafting that I have missed so dearly!

God is good, all the time.

Robbie Seay Band - Oh, Love That Will Not Let Me Go

I wanted to jump back on here and share two songs that I have been listening to on repeat for the last week! I hope that you enjoy, God bless!

Winter Snow Song - Audrey Assad with Chris Tomlin

Some Good Blog Reads

This week has been the coldest weather that Vegas has experienced yet this winter, and therefore, Gavin and I have been in hibernation mode. Well, bless his heart- he has to work out in the cold, but other than that he has been keeping inside. It isn't really like us to stay inside for so long, but since we have been getting the house situated and my health has been less than stellar we have stayed close to home. We think that we might be able to get our hands on a sailboat at a very reasonable price soon. That would really be awesome because Gav could work on the boat throughout the rest of winter and have it sail-worthy by spring!

Good news: I picked up my MRI scan this morning and as far as I can tell from the report the scan was all clear! Hallelujah, Praise Him! I was so relieved that I may or may not have shed a tear in the parking lot! I still haven't had my follow-up appointment with the neurologist yet, but I couldn't wait another week and a half to see the results. I am not sure what the next course of action will be, but I am happy to report that my hives are currently under control- another answered prayer!

Now, onto the purpose of this post...

With some of the time that I been stuck inside, I have been browsing the internet catching up on blogs that I had neglected since before the wedding. Chelsea (her blog is here) emailed me a link to a new blog called Today's Letters. It took about 3 minutes total for me to become obsessed! More specifically, click here to see what got me hooked on this cute couple! I have also been reading a lot about this cute family at The Newlywed Diaries to get some inspirations for decorating our home! Jennifer, the author of the blog, was a Sigma Kappa with me at Auburn and a few years older. She has a due date for her first baby on January 9th! I have also been stalking this precious family at Fly Through Our Window because her children are adorable and her words are inspiring! And last but not least, I have been following The Southern Swoop Blog. Her name is Joanna and she was the girl who did my hair for the wedding. Aside from the beautiful photographs that she takes, she also does hair "tutorials" and I am always in need of something new to do to my hair outside of my usual ponytail.

I hope you can check out some of these blogs and be entertained as I have been!

Also, I definitely already have a constant set of nerves for next weeks games. This has progressed from only have nerves when I thought about January 10th... my heart knows that this time is near! AH! WAR EAGLE!

Out with the Old, In with the New

With today being the last day of 2010, I thought that it would be appropriate to re-cap 2010 and all of the beautiful ways that God has blessed us this year. A year ago yesterday, we were taking Lesley to the airport to head back to Alabama after she graciously drove the 2,000 mile journey with me. I started 2010 as a brand new resident of Las Vegas! I spent an incredible year playing outdoors, and being in love with Gavin! I climbed out at Red Rocks, I went on some incredible hikes, I took thousands of pictures, and Gavin and I learned how to slackline. We also got engaged in July and married in November... a beautifully short engagement (which made me very happy) that my mom will not soon forgive me for! We were showered with love from our friends and families, and even from people we had never met. It was so humbling to open box after box, and envelope after envelope from people sending gifts, best wishes and prayers for our future together. I knew that we were loved, but I was blown away by the graciousness of others. Thank you to everyone who played a part in celebrating with us. We ask that you continue to pray for our marriage, health, and happiness. We took a nice long honeymoon in Europe (pictures will be up soon). We also spent Thanksgiving and Christmas together as a new family. I think that it is important to spend time counting our blessings because it reveals just how much God is moving in our lives when we may not take the time to stop and truly be grateful. Thank you Lord for an incredible 2010!

The chiming of the clock at midnight brings us a new year, and with that comes the traditional resolutions. Gavin and I made a quick list (well, I made a quick list because he doesn't make resolutions) this morning of things that we wanted to accomplish in the new year. It wasn't your typical list of things we waned to "do better" about. Our combined list looks like so:

• Win a National Championship- the Auburn Family
  
• Walk a highline {slackline}- G
  
• Learn more about my camera- K
• Pass my test and get a job- K
• Visit Moab, Yosimite, and Tahoe- K&G
• Learn to surf- K&G
• Sail on Lake Mead and then to Catalina Island- K&G
• Try to see the Northern Lights
• Strive to be healthier individuals (and get rid of my hives)- K&G
  
• Strive to always be a light to others and a devoted follower of Christ-K&G

So there you have the Kidd's 2011 list! What is on your list?

To totally change gears, we are still working on the finishing details of our home. As I said in a post earlier, I don't think that decorating is a chore that you really ever "complete," so much as it is a work in progress. I made my first "Honey Do" list complete with only two tasks. Gavin thought that this was funny since my two tasks involved our ipods and our cars. We have a few projects that we want here in the next week. I will be adding posts with pictures so that you can see what our place looks like and so that I can document the changes that we make.

I pray that God will bless you in 2011 with health and happiness! Also, be looking for our wedding pictures soon... they just came in the mail as I have been writing this post!

What's in a name?

So, today is day number 54! I love today more than yesterday, and I anticipate the same feeling tomorrow! I do regret to inform you, however, that my name is still legally Katharine Reynolds Ireland. I was so excited to receive our marriage certificate in the mail, and I went straight to the Social Security Administration office and changed my name with them in five minutes flat! And it was free!! Easiest government experience of my life, right? Well, that should have been my first clue that something would go wrong. Two days later, I get to the DMV bright and early with my venti Starbucks coffee to comfort me in that early hour (8am). So I am waiting in a line to get a number to wait in another line, all the while praying for patience and kindness and sipping my latte. Once I am finally helped I explain that, "Well, I have recently lost my former driver license, moved, and been married, so I need a new license to cover all that jazz." He looks confusingly (if that is a word) at all of the paper work I hand him, and doesn't say anything. I re-explain, "I just want to change my name to Katharine IReland Kidd, and update my address." He looks down and replies, "Oh, you can't do that, that is illegal in the state of Nevada." To which I laugh thinking he is joking, and say, "Excuse me? Illegal?" He goes on to explain that it is illegal to change your name in the fashion that I had requested. I was still praying for patience, but trying to understand what he kept using the work "illegal" as if I were harming someone by choosing to keep my maiden name. He said that my only options were to a) keep my name as it was, b) hyphenate Ireland-Kidd, or c) drop my maiden name and be Katharine Reynolds Kidd. I inquired about Nevada state law versus other state laws explaining that I am from the south and that it is commonplace to keep your maiden name. He just handed me my paperwork, explained that the best I could do is get a license with and said "I am only responsible for Nevada state law, your request is ILLEGAL, and perhaps your southern states have not caught up with the law." UGHHHHH! I smiled my meanest smile, took my number, and had a seat!

I was hoping that I would be able to speak to a woman who could understand what I was trying to do, I mean, maybe the man I spoke with was confused. I hardly understood why my request was so difficult. I could change my name at the Social Security office with no trouble, so what was Nevada's problem? Luckily I got a women, but all that that got me was an understanding empathetic look. "Yes" she said, "unfortunately keeping your maiden name as your middle name was considered illegal," and that I would need to petition for a legal name change in family court. Heaven help me! Family court?

So off I go to Family Court (saddest place I have ever been), and stood in line to get a number to stand in line. I was helped my a nice old lady who was very understanding. She said that I cold purchase the paperwork to represent myself in court, but that the DMV was mistaken in sending me to family court because I would have to file the paperwork downtown at the court house. I was relieved that I only had to spend $5 to buy this nonsense paperwork, but then she informed me that, "But I hate to tell you sweetie, but it costs $270 to file the paperwork and another $80 to run your name in the paper for 3 weeks in a row." I wanted to cry. I just want my husband's last name!!!!

Gavin and I decided on a different approach for changing my name in the state of Nevada. We went to the post office and picked up the information for a new passport. It turned out that all I had to send them was a certified copy of our marriage certificate, and a check. I got my new passport with my new name (katharine Ireland Kidd) in the mail last week. So, I am still not sure how I can change my name (hassle-free) with the agency that is responsible for the accuracy of my identity as it pertains to the USA and to foreign countries, but the Silver State wants me to petition this change for consideration in front of a judge.

I am going to the DMV on Monday morning with my new passport and my new social security card to try my luck at a license again! I will let you know how all of that goes!

(Sorry if this was long and detailed. I omitted a good portion of the story, but for me the quotes were to frustrating to leave out.)

MERRY CHRISTMAS

"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
Luke 2:14

I love the Christmas season... the lights, candlelight church services, family, tradition, good food, and God's amazing love, joy, and peace. I love our family Christmas tradition. Sassy spends the night on Christmas eve and we eat a a wonderful meal after our church service. We wake up in the morning, drink coffee, open gifts, and my favorite part: the stocking. Judy is an elf genius at stuffing our stockings!! From there we pile into the car and head to Birmingham to have the Ireland Christmas... all 30 of us! It is an amazing day!

But sadly, this year I am in Las Vegas far away from the traditions that I am used to. As sad as I am about not being with my family on Christmas Day, I am so happy to be starting new traditions in my new family of two! Gavin has to work both tonight and tomorrow night (Christmas night) so going home was not an option. We have our tree all nicely decorated (with discounted ornaments from Lowe's... I don't care who knows it!) and the house is clean ready for a visit from Santa and a day spent relaxing together and reflecting on the reason for this blessed season.

We have been church hunting the past month or so, and that is a tall order during the Christmas season. We are praying for God's direction, but we were able to find a place we liked well enough to return for their Christmas Eve service. The service was focused on "Immanuel- God is With Us." It was a beautiful service focused on the gift He came to give... His perfect peace. Las Vegas is a bleeding city in this economy. Gavin and I have become more and more aware of this as we began searching for a house to rent. The foreclosures have left normal families homeless and forced to either leave the city or to rent in an unsafe area. The homelessness is on every corner. I thought the message the pastor brought tonight was perfect for the people of Las Vegas. And also perfect for me. What kind of person would I be if I truly handed over my struggles, my anxiety, my fears? What would my life look like if I disciplined myself to continually be in his favor so that He might bless me with his heavenly peace as it says in Luke 2:14? I realize that this hasn't been my focus, and what could be more important that living my life to please Him? It may be a continual struggle, but He has promised peace! What joy He has for us!

Well, all of this to say Merry Christmas to you all from Las Vegas, but mostly I pray that you will be be surrounded by God's perfect consuming peace!

Forgive Me... it's been forever!

Hey friend(s)... I have been so busy, and I haven't made any time for blogging in my life. Well, I am back and vowing (maybe as an early new year's resolution?) to be better at updating! I really enjoy reading other people's blogs, especially the ones that are updated often because I feel like I am "in the know" about their lives. I feel like I should extend the same courtesy to anyone out there who might want to be keeping up with us in that same manner.

Well, I got married... only 45 days ago, but who is counting!?!?! It was the most amazing day of my life- hands down!!! Gavin is truly the love of my life, and I am blessed beyond measure to have him as my husband! We had an amazing honeymoon (I will post pictures and share more in a post later on), and we have been settling into our new home (again, more on this later). It has all been so new and exciting... everything and more that I hoped it all would be! My only complaint has been health related. I have been getting hives every day since the beginning of July. No, they are not caused by stress. The doctors are at a loss as to what is causing them. Ny dermatologist says that they are idiopathic, meaning that there is no cause. He says that I have nothing to worry about, but that is much easier said than done! Couple that with a headache each day for about 2 months, and you have yourself a very worried newly wed. I have an appointment with a neurologist on Wednesday (tomorrow) morning. I am praying hard that they are able to find some results (some not-so-scary results) so that I can get to the bottom of it. Any prayers would be greatly appreciated!

Anywho... no more about bad stuff. I am in love with life married to Gavin! Gad has truly blessed me! Thank you to all of you who have been praying and supporting us throughout the engagement and wedding! It was friends like you all who made this time in our lives so much more special. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

Good night to all of you!

Engagement and other updates...

Hey Friend(s) who might be checking this... I am sorry that I have not written for so long. Life has been very exciting lately. Only July 9th, gavin proposed and we have set the wedding date for this upcoming November 6th. Here are some pictures that we took right after he asked the big question. Please forgive our appearance as it was 5 a.m. and we had been awake for about 3 hours.

Gavin works from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m., and after work that night he called to wake me up and told me to get dressed. He had somewhere that he wanted to take me, and to be ready. We are always doing really fun things, so I didn't know what was about to happen. We went over the Hoover Dam into Arizona and kept driving for about 2 more hours. We drove down miles of dirt road, and there was not another soul in sight. We watched the sun rise with the top down in the car. Gavin waited for the right moment and then asked me to marry him. AH! It was so wonderful! I couldn't wait to get back into civilization so that I could call my mom and tell her the good news. Of course once I did, she didn't answer. So I called Dad instead. He was very excited for me. After I talked to Mom, we needed some sleep before we could make any more phone calls to share the good news. I was in a bit of a time crunch because one of my best friends Holly was on a flight to come and see me that night. This was perfect except I needed almost a week to talk to everyone about my exciting life news! I did the best I could, and then I was off to the airport to pick up Holly. It was so perfect because I hadn't seen her precious face in exactly 1 year! I met her at baggage claim and we immediately started catching up... I wanted to see how long it would take her to notice my ring! I made it about 45 minutes before I had to tell her, and she cried as predicted! I was so happy to have her there to celebrate with me!

Holly!

Holly wanted to see what life in Vegas was like for Gavin and I,

so we took her to the park to slackline.

She got the hang of it pretty quickly!

Then she wanted to climb and repel. This is Gavin telling her what to do.

Pretty smiles! I love these people!

I can't tell you how happy I am that she came to visit!

Organizing the equipment.

Pretty crazy about this boy...

So fun!

Vegas night-life! We lost a whole 6 dollars.

Getting married!

Beautiful friend!

I have a lot of other things to post about to be up-to-date on my blogging, but I am too tired to write more at this time. Let's just say that wedding planning is more exhausting and not exactly what I had expected. With such a short engagement, Mom and I have had to do some fast learning in the wedding planning world. Some days I wish that we had more time to plan, but most of the time I just wish that we were getting married next week. I will create another post really soon about the planning so far, and wedding dress shopping.

Home

Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I went home for about 9 days, and I am just getting settled back into things here in Vegas. I had a great time being home... it was the first time since December 26! I had my camera with me throughout the duration of my trip, but I took very few pictures. Here is what I did take...

I left out on a Sunday evening, and I got lucky enough to see Gavin in action at work.

He was working on the plane that I was about to fly out on.

On my first day home, Mom and I drove to Birmingham to shop around and to visit my grandmother, Faybaby. We were able to grab a bite to eat with Dad and John Jr as well. The following day, I headed to Auburn to catch up with some friends. I had such a great day seeing people I hadn't seen in nearly 6 months!!! I really wish that I had thought to take out my camera and get a few pictures. The rest of the week was spent at home with Mom, Dad, and Sassy! It was great to spend some time with Sassy because I hadn't seen her since Christmas. Lesley graduated on Friday, but she was gracious enough to not require my attendance for the ceremony. Thank you Lord (and Lesley). She graduated cum laude in exactly 4 years, I am so proud of her!

Les and me.

Faybaby and I at Lesley's graduation party at the lake.

Mary Margaret came and spent the weekend with me at the lake. She brought her baby, Beasley. It was so great to spend time with the both of them!

I went back to Peachtree City, where we did some slacklining. And as usual, we drew a crowd.

It was so great to be home for a few days. I already miss everybody. I am open to visitors any time!!!! Okay, I am sorry to give you a play-by-play, so thank you for reading if you made it this far!

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all you mommies out there! Today is your special day! Although I am not yet a mom, I do know that it is one of the most important jobs in the world. The older I get, the more I realize how important a mother's role is in her children's lives. I also learned that everyone else was missing out because my siblings and I were the only 3 people lucky enough to have my mom all to themselves. I mean, I always knew she was great, but the more people that I met in college the more I realized how lucky I really was.

The list of why Judy is so wonderful is far too long to list here, but I would like to touch on some of the things that I most appreciate. She has managed the most wonderful balance between being my biggest fan and putting me in my place (kindly and gently, of course). I have met some mothers who believe that their children can do no wrong, and Jude isn't one of those... and I appreciate that. I love our honest relationship. Also, since we live so close to Auburn, she was very much the mother to all of my friends and sorority sisters. And, she lets me vent! That may be my favorite thing! I can scream, kick, and cry, and she will just let me! Amazing! Okay, that was a random short list, but those are the things that came to mind. I am sorry I am not being very poetic, but its late, so this is the best that I can do! Basically, my mom is the most amazing mom there is, and I am so thankful that God sent her to me (or me to her)... He really knows what He is doing!

Not only do I have an amazing mom, but I was also blessed with other amazing moms throughout my life. There are many people who have played a role in rearing me, and I wanted to say thank you, and wish you all a Happy Mother's Day. Here are some pictures that I wanted to share with you all.

Random picture of mom and child in Africa (had to throw it in, it was too cute!)

So cute!

My beautiful mom with her daughters.

In Hawaii.

I have a mom that will stay up late after graduation to help me make brownies despite the fact I am 24 and can do it myself.

Jude and MM in the kitchen. My mom shares family recipes with her "other daughters" and then teaches them how to bake them. These two love each other.

Sassy, my precious grandma.

Faybaby. She is one of my favorite people in the world.

Amie. She was my babysitter when I was growing up. She was like a stand-in mom on at times. She actually lived with us when Judy broke her arm! She now has 3 BEAUTIFUL babies of her own. Happy Mom's Day, Amie!

This is Mrs. Rose, Jennifer's mom! She was my other mom, as I lived at their house in elementary school! We did family vacations and a million other things together. Mrs. Rose treated me just like I was part of the family. She was one of those close family friends who was allowed to discipline me without it being weird or her over-stepping! Like I said, I was her other daughter. I love this woman- Happy Mother's Day!

This is beautiful Sarah. If I had ever had an older sister, she would have been it. She is now the mother of her own two BEAUTIFUL babies. Happy Mother's Day to you, Sarah!

This is Momma Kim. She is Tori's mom, but my mom, too. She is my college mom to be exact. I met her and Tori my sophomore year, and I became one of her many, many daughters as soon as Tori joined Sigma Kappa. She is great with advise and always up for tailgating or a girls night (the picture above is from a concert in Huntsville where we got caught in a terrible downpour)! I love you Miss Kim.

Here is a picture of Tori and I with our moms.

This is my beautiful friend, Chelsea with her Avery. She is an amazing mom and wife, and she is one of my very best friends! I am so thankful for her!

Aunt Cindy is my mom's best friend. She is another one of my moms growing up. I love her and Uncle John, they are truly part of my family. I hope that your day is wonderful!

The only mom that I think that I am missing in Mrs. Tucker. I didn't have a picture on my laptop, but I have a million at home in Alabama. I split my time between the Davis' and the Tucker's houses. Mrs. Tucker was also a mom who treated me like part of the family. I have wonderful memories with her and her amazing family!

So, Happy Mother's Day to all of you. I hope that you know how loved you all are.

(If you thought that mother's day was long, just wait until father's day... I have a million uncles to recognize!)