Wednesday, October 19

Meet Lilly

This is my Lilly.


After a day and a half--this is her favorite place to sit. D.I.V.A.


She told me she wants to be a speech-pathologist, too. 


I warned her. 


And I think she changed her mind. 


She's a sweet little thing. Many adventures to come. Stay tuned, we are going home this weekend to meet the fam. And I'm wondering what this ole' girl is gonna think. 


Friday, October 14

Dear Kelsie

Dear 35-year-old Kelsie, 


I don't have a clue where you are living, what you are doing, and how things are rolling--but let's keep our fingers crossed that it's good and wholesome and that you're enjoying it. I think you'll be loving your job, whether you are working in a hospital with little premie babies or in a nursing home with stroke patients. I hope you're laughing about all the nights that you thought the world was ending. And laughing about the day that you cried after your client bit you... then wiped boogers on you--yeah, don't ever forget about that day. I hope that you are as passionate about kids as you were at 23, and I hope you are still seeking out ways to help the ones who seem un-helpable. I hope you're loving whatever it is that you do. 


I sincerely hope that you have learned to be domestic. It all started when you discovered this website called Pinterest in 2011. You probably don't remember, but you didn't know how to even cook noodles before then. I'm serious. And as for ironing clothes, I'm praying that you've stopping ironing your shirts with your hair straightener by now. I know it's easy--but at 23 you didn't even own an ironing board. That might be a little extreme. I also hope you aren't still lounging on the couch at night in your Pillow Academy baseball sweatpants that you stole from Mart freshman year. If you are, I applaud you for not letting Mom throw them away by now. Speaking of Mom, you're probably just like her. Except for the fact that she doesn't ever wear t-shirts, because even your 23 year old self knows that you'll never grow out of this I love large t-shirts of any color phase. That's okay. Because these college shirts will still fit you. Oh and college? Don't let Edey, Mary Jo or Dixon tell your kids those stories in the Junction when they get older. 


Most importantly, I hope you're loving who you're with to the best of your abilities. I hope you aren't bogged down with the world and with schedules and with carpool, and that you're taking the time out of your day to continually love those who have loved you for all these years. Don't take them for granted. Your twenty-three year old self says this now when some of that love is fresh, some of it hasn't even started, and some of it has been rediscovered. Enjoy life. Don't live by your schedule for the day. Take spontaneous trips to the park and to the ice cream shop (hopefully you live somewhere that has an ice cream shop). Make jokes, you're pretty dang funny. Spend time with people--even if that means the dishes don't all get washed today. 


Don't worry about it. Be joyful. Love God and love others and smile. It'll all be okay. Whatever it happens to be that day. Pray. Show mercy. Be grateful.