A Christmas of Remembrance and Hope!

(Birthday dinner at Stoney River Steakhouse in Atlanta)

Life has changed a lot since my last blog update. I see now why I did not have a full-time job during the Fall. While I questioned it so many times, I am thanking the Lord and seeing the perfection in His timing now. My Grandma Nell died on October 28th. My mom and I were able to be with her until the very end. We were her care-givers; a daunting and painful task, yet one that changed us for the better. We spent 15 days in Paducah. Seven of those days were spent taking care of her, as hospice was called in. My mom was the only daughter and I was the only grand-daughter....needless to say - we were VERY close! She was a woman that was so very ready to go be with the Lord and "her Bill" (my Grandpa). Through the past ten years that followed my Grandpa's death, we watched my Grandma deteriorate. We watched her mind fail her as dementia took over. The past ten years have been very painful, especially for my Mom. (I can only hope to be half the daughter she has been!)
My Grandma was always a woman of strong faith - committing Scripture to memory...she could put us all to shame! Two nights before she died she quoted Psalm 103 in its' entirety. As we were talking about her imminent "home-going", the day before she died she looked at me, with tears streaming down her face, and said "When I think of seeing Jesus face to face - my heart just pounds!!!". Oh, what a challenge to live like that...to love Jesus with such a passion. I could write a book!! I am currently journaling the final days of her life; so that we can look back to a very, very painful situation and recall the might and faithfulness of God that was so greatly displayed through her.

All that to say, now I know why I did not have a job this fall. The Lord gave me the freedom I needed to be with my Mom and my Grandma during such an important time. We are grieving and going through the ebb and flow of that process. Here we are right at the Holidays...a very difficult time in many ways. Knowing where my Grandma is brings much comfort in the midst of our pain. She is experiencing Christmas in a way we could never imagine! She always loved the Holidays and LOVED Christmas trees. The week after she died, my Mom and I were talking and we decided that we would "live it up" for her this year. I've included some pictures of our house in Jonesboro. I incorporated many items from my Grandma into my decorations this year...I find it comforting to do so. I know my Mom is doing the same. So, here are some pics of The Logan House - Christmas 2009:

Our first tree!

This was my Grandma's wreath...I spruced it up a little :)

The white church was my Grandma's...

Enjoy this Christmas and enjoy your family! Savor every moment. Make memories and spend time with each other. Above all, give thanks to our Lord and Savior who came to earth in the form of a man to give us the greatest gift of all - Salvation! I'm so very thankful for the hope of my salvation and look forward to a wonderful reunion with loved ones who have gone before me who are already worshiping Jesus face to face! May we adore Christ with all that we have this coming season and throughout the year!

Merry Christmas,

Kelly and Chad

P.S. - I got a job! I'll be teaching here in Jonesboro starting in January (more on that to come)!!

Go Jackets!!!!!!!!!! (And Rebs!)

Melissa, My mom (Kay), my mother-in-law (Sandra)

We spent last weekend in Oxford and Starkville going to see GA Tech beat MS State! We had the best time. The picture above was taken while we were waiting to eat dinner at Boure in Oxford. We had a great meal and it was so great for all of us to be together: My parents and brother, Chad's parents, and his brother and sister-in-law. It was a packed weekend and we even managed to fit in a little shopping on Saturday before the game :)

Here is a picture of our house - I am now an Ole Miss Wife and proudly support Chad's team! Our weather has been beautiful and chilly lately...already making me excited for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I'm still not finished with our front doorstep - going to get some different colored pumpkins next week and I may even paint them. Who knows!?!

My great friend and sister-in-law, Melissa....we are a deadly pair - we both LOVE to shop and decorate. We're dangerous together! She's so sweet and I'm very glad to be in the same family now!

You know this good-looking man! He has been so busy lately with BCM. Meanwhile, I've been stuck at home with some strand of the flu - ready to feel better and have a great weekend!

Last, but not least, here are our boys...it was a fun game!

Well, we'll be out of town for the next few weekends (always on the go). We'll be visiting family this weekend. Chad's cousin, Heather, just had her 3rd little boy. We are so excited to see Luke! Next weekend we'll be in MO where Chad is speaking at a Youth Conference. Hopefully after that we'll be able to stay at home for a weekend or two. Before we know it, Thanksgiving and Christmas will be here. I'm ready to decorate and start listening to my Christmas music!

Hope you are well!

Love,

Kelly and Chad

Welcome Fall!!!

Chad has been very busy with beginning of the year activities at the BCM and we are slowly getting into our own routine. I've been subbing a lot and am learning to enjoy the flexibility! I would be lying if I told you I weren't ready to get back in my own classroom, though! I'm definitely looking forward to that and missing it! In the meantime, I'm loving being able to go to events at the BCM and spend extra time with Chad (when possible!). The picture above is from our first Arkansas StAte game. It was hot, hot, hot!!! Anyone who knows me well knows that I was totally over it within the first quarter! Luckily we were winning and Chad was fine with leaving at half-time. I like going to games later in the fall...especially when I can wear a cute outfit that I won't sweat in :). We see where my priorities lie.

Jonesboro is a sweet town. Everyone is nice and I'm finding my way around to all the shops in town! We definitely miss the good food in New Orleans, though :(....living there made us food snobs, for sure!
This weekend we took a spur of the moment QUICK trip to Paducah to see my Grandma Nell. She's not doing very well now and I really wanted to be able to spend time with her while she is still somewhat coherent and able to recognize me. It was sad to see how much she has declined (especially mentally) since the last time we were with her. Chad and I took our wedding pics and the wedding video for her to see. She enjoyed looking at the video and understood bits and pieces...especially when I walked down the aisle. It was sweet to see her enjoy that moment! Being with her this weekend was very sad, but made me so thankful for all the wonderful memories our family has with her. She was and always will be a wonderful Grandma!

The next few weekends are packed full of football games and family! We're looking forward to some much needed time with our family (my parents haven't seen us in almost three months). I'm sure we'll have many pictures to post next time.

Hope all is well...

Kelly and Chad

Show Us Your Life - Wedding Reception

Our wedding reception was at Cedar Plantation in Acworth, GA. It was absolutely beautiful and beyond anything we imagined. The house is so gorgeous by itself...all we added were candles and flower arrangements for the tables (and a few big arrangements for the food tables). The landscaping was gorgeous and everything in perfect bloom (we got married this June). Again, you can see other pics on the link to the blog and slideshow on my previous post.
Joy took this pic in the Bride's changing room, upstairs in Cedar Plantation. We had a lot of fun just dancing around and taking sweet pics while we were hiding out!

Here is a pic of our first dance. We danced to "Can't Help Falling In Love". We chose the Michael Buble version. So great!

I had the best baker and decorator for my cakes! Jennifer Punch works out of Marietta, GA and she created my ideal wedding cake. She made it look like the back of a dress with a rolled fondant bow. I found the broach at my favorite accessory store, Francescas! :)

Of course, Chad's cake was an ode to Ole Miss! We used old yearbooks and a pic of him as a little boy on the Groom's cake table.

Here's a pic of our beautiful wedding party out front by the HUGE magnolia tree. We have the best friends!!!

Let me say again: check out www.joywilsonphotography.com if you are ever in need of a photographer --- she's THE BEST!!!

Show us your wedding dress....

So, over on Kelly's blog she is doing a "Show Us Your Life" portion today. I thought I would repost the link to our fabulous photographer, Joy Goodwin Wilson, and the slideshow she made for us. Here are a few pics of my dress (and wedding party) as well....hard to believe it will be almost two months ago that I wore this and married the love of my life!!!




Here is the link to the slideshow by Joy: http://joywilson-photography.blogspot.com/2009/07/mr-mrs-logan.html

Sneak Peek of our Wedding Photos

Here is a link to the blog that our friend and photographer, Joy, did for our photos:

http://joywilson-photography.blogspot.com/2009/07/mr-mrs-logan.html

You can also view a slideshow she created there as well....

We've had an amazing month! We are continuing to get settled in Jonesboro, AR. I'll be better about blogging soon. In the meantime, we thought you'd like to see some pics :)

Love,

Kelly and Chad

We're really busy, okay??!! :)

With my lovely and unbelievable hostesses on 4/26.....they gave us such a great shower!!!

Me, Carly, sweet Annie Glenn, and Jessica ---- friends since college :)

We are set for the kitchen!! Unbelievable -- I didn't want to bore you with pics of ALL our gifts, but here are our appliances.....

My beautiful Maid of Honor, Jamie....best friends since middle school :)

Catching up with you.....

My apologies, again. My camera has been freaking out on me (of all times) and I've had to rely on the kindness of friends and family for these pics. Never fear, I'm getting it fixed this week! Just a quick recap: around the first of April my twin brother, Justin, came to visit us in NOLA and he got to experience the craziness that is New Orleans! Let's just say that on one of our first outings he witnessed Bourbon Street in all its glory: a man being arrested for solicitation, a hit and run, and several other things I can't remember because clearly it's been forever since I've updated this thing!!! Anyways, he treated us to some unbelievable meals that included: Muriels on Jackson Square, Galatoires (Bourbon Street incident!), and Commander's Palace (where we ate next to Kelly Ripa and Faith Ford). Yes, we did! She's even skinnier in real life. I doubt she ate...probably just pushed that fabulous food aruond her plate. But, she did look great :)

We spent Easter here in New Orleans and visited our friend Jason Brooks at First Baptist Covington. Jason is now one of the worship pastors at FBC and he is also doing the music in our wedding. His wife, Capri, is one of my bridesmaids as well. We are so happy for them!

Chad and I were given a beautiful shower last weekend in Marietta. We seriously have unbelievable friends and family. Again, we're overwhelmed by the kindness and graciousness of everyone. We are feelin' the love! On a completely superficial note, I can't wait to get in our home (wherever that may be) and set it all up! It's going to be like Christmas, I tell you.

As for jobs, there are a few exciting opportunities out there and Chad will be interviewing for them in the next few weeks. We trust in God's faithfulness and are committed to following where he leads. Now, I'll admit --- it's been difficult to wait around like this....but, we've learned so much and KNOW that He has the BEST in store for our lives!! Please pray with us during this time.

Oh, and the SWINE FLU caused us to cancel our honeymoon to Mexico!!! I mean, seriously. Really?? Well, I don't want to go on my honeymoon wearing a hospital mask (it would ruin my outfits) and I definitely don't want to get any strand of the flu --- especially from a pig. Don't have time for it. Chad is now keeping our new honeymoon destination a secret from me....which is KILLING me!! I'm a control freak and a planner. Clearly, God's trying to teach me something :)

The next few weeks look like this: finish finals, move our stuff to Bruce and ATL, GRADUATE!!!, move to ATL, finish planning the wedding, get married on June 13. Hopefully I'll post between now and then, but I promise to be more consistent at a later, unspecified date. Promise.

Love to you all....

Kelly and Chad