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

Blessed...

Melissa (Sister-in-Law), Sandra (Mother-in-Law), me, and my Mom (Kay)

My wonderful Mom :)

Our beautiful host home --- look at those flowers!!!

Our custom-made bedding!!!!

Arthur Court and Crystal gifts...

Lamps and Decorative items....

Well, I am officially well-versed in Old-Mississippi wedding tradition! Chad and I are completely overwhelmed at what we were given this weekend. I mean, the pictures above were just a sampling of the things we were so generously given. This Georgia Girl was thrilled to death to receive such beautiful things. Where I'm from we get necessities - linens, flatware, china, towels, electrics, etc... In N. Mississippi you register at the little gift shops and get all the beautiful decorative pieces that you saw in the pictures above. We are still completely overcome. I can't wait to "get to where we're going" (as Chad's Grandma says) and set all of this up. A dream. Seriously.

As if that wasn't enough to fill our day, Chad was ordained into the ministry on Sunday night after the shower. It was such a special service. I'm so very proud of him. My Dad and his Dad were there at the ordination council and had the privilege of signing his certificate....what a treasure! So, that was our weekend....now I'm onto the task of writing thank-you's for all of the lovely gifts we received....

My Mom...

I just have to say that I have the best Mom in the world. It's so true :) We have always been so close and enjoyed so many of the same things. My entire life, she has been there for everything (as well as my Dad). She has always sacrificed to make sure that my brother and I have everything we want....and even though I am 26 years old, she is still the same way! She has been so unbelievable throughout all of this wedding planning. I said in my previous post that I think she is having more fun than I am (if that's possible). She has morphed into this incredible wedding planner and I don't know what we'd do without her!!! She is truly one of my very best friends - I love to shop with her (which we always find an excuse to shop for something when we're together), catch up on all the latest news with her, and just plain spend time with her. She is the best! She has learned to put up with a lot in our home - primarily because she is the brunt of most of our sarcastic humor....She's a tough woman!! Haha. Seriously, I hope to one day be the wife and mother that she is.

I just thought I'd send a little shout-out to my Mom today....thanks for all you do!!! I am so thankful for the bond that we have!!! (Dad, I love you, too...more than you know!!!)

Invitations, Flowers, and Cakes....

For Spring Break, Chad and I went home to Marietta for a marathon of wedding planning. My mom has been wonderful through this whole engagement (I think she's having more fun than me...if that's possible?!) - she's helped in so many ways, considering the fact that Chad and I are 8+ hours away from home and trying to plan a nice wedding. This Spring Break was a wonderful time to see our family, but not much was spent relaxing. From the very beginning we had meeting after meeting after meeting...

On Tuesday we met with our Cake Baker, Jennifer, and picked out the wedding cake and Groom's Cake. Jennifer is from New Orleans, so we instantly hit it off with her. We love her and are so excited about the cakes. Not only do they taste fabulous, they are beautiful!!! Following our meeting with Jennifer, we met with the florist to finalize table decorations for the reception and the floral decorations for the Church. Poor Chad, I know his eyes were rolling in the back of his head by the end our meeting. I was even tired of talking about flowers (you know, me and my short attention span). Thankfully, we got all of that finalized and I am so excited about everything.

Wednesday, we met with Jim, my pastor, and talked about the wedding ceremony. It is going to be such a sweet time to have him as part of our ceremony. He's been my pastor since I was in the 4th grade. On Thursday we met with one of my best friends - Mandy. She will be the pianist in our wedding. I was in Mandy's wedding and our day just wouldn't be complete without her there. She is amazing! Thursday we finalized all of our music selections and talked about the order of worship for the service. Of course, this was the most fun for me. :)

All week long we worked on the invitations. Whew! I hand addressed all of them and then Chad and my Mom helped me stamp and stuff all of the invitations. Fun! Fun! I'm sure Chad is so glad to be done with all of that. So, that was our week. Full of fun wedding stuff. I feel relieved and now can move on to another list of things that need to be done before June 13. We have our first wedding shower in Bruce this weekend and Chad will be ordained into the ministry, as well. This will be a special time for our families and we're looking forward to it. (Pictures to come).

Hope all is well...Love to each of you -

Kelly and Chad

(Our invitations)

Sorry....

**Random Picture:
This is a fun picture I came across today :) This was taken at a Sushi place here in NOLA right after Chad and I met in September of '07. Seems like just yesterday...who would've thought we'd be here....

*************

Okay, I set out not to be "one of those people" that never updated this thing. My apologies. Life is crazy right now and it's only going to get more crazy! We went home to ATL for Chad to speak at a DNOW this past weekend. Whirlwind trip! It was great to see my family and be back "home" for a few days, but I despise long car rides now. Don't get me wrong, I love spending the time with Chad --- but, I'm always worn out when we get back....and I don't even do the driving. (Isn't he great, he doesn't even make me drive?!!)

Anyways, we have one week until Spring Break and then we're heading back to ATL. The week is already packed with wedding "stuff" and appointments - every day! June 13th will be here before we know it. After that, we have our first wedding shower in Bruce, MS the weekend of March 29th...along with Chad's ordination into the ministry. Such exciting and busy times! I'll post pictures as they come.

Love to you all,

Kelly and Chad

Happy Birthday to Chad !!!

On Sunday, we celebrated Chad's 28th Birthday here in New Orleans! We had been celebrating Carnival Season all weekend here and when I booked our reservations at NOLA I was careful to take note of the parade routes. NOLA is one of Emeril's restaurants off of Saint Louis in the Quarter. I saw where the route for the parade on Sunday night was going down St. Charles and would end on Canal. I thought we were safe. Ha!! I failed to remember all of the tourists that would be flooding the French Quarter this weekend in preparation of Fat Tuesday. Oh my word! Chad, being the wonderful man that he is, drove us around and around and around and around..... and then we finally found a spot to park at in The Marigny section on the outskirts of the Quarter. After finding this parking spot, we then proceeded to walk about five miles (I exaggerate) to the restaurant. Picture this: We were all decked out for dinner and I, of course, was in my new black croc boots. Not the best choice for a 5k!! We actually had a great time; the weather was beautiful and we enjoyed watching all of the tourists live it up.

Our dinner was out of this world. I've always heard that Emeril's restaurants are overpriced for what you get. However, we'd looked at this menu and it sounded great. Emeril did not let us down! I would definitely recommend going to NOLA if you're ever in New Orleans. Everything we had was good ---- from appetizer to dessert. So, go to NOLA if you have the time. After dinner we took a cab back to our car (yes, it's true) and then headed back to the apartments for cake with our good friends here at Seminary. We had a wonderful time.

Above all, let me say how thankful I am for this man....he is a wonderful husband-to-be and my very best friend. Each day he challenges me to be a better person and to love more fully....he is the best!!!!I can't wait to see where we'll be in the next 28 years :)

Beads, King Cake, and Kid Rock....

Well, this is our last Mardi Gras celebration while living in NOLA and it has been great!! I have been recovering from being sick all week, but was thankfully well enough to go to two nights of parades. I think we're getting too old for this stuff --- or maybe we just over-did it?!! Friday night we met our good friends down off of St. Charles for the Morpheus and De Etat Parades. We had a lot of fun....I don't really care about getting the beads from the floats, I really just want the cups they throw!!

Today, we went to "Aunt Hellen's" house in Mid-city for an Endymion party. Hellen and my Mom have been friends for years and she's been my Mom-away-from-home since I got to NOLA. She knows how to throw a party and her Endymion parties are famous! She and her husband, Jerry, have a house right at the beginning of the parade route on Orleans Avenue. In my opinion, this is the best way to do a parade. We had excellent food, a beautiful home to be comfortable in, and an excellent view. Did I mention that Kid Rock was the Grand Marshall for Endymion this year?! We had such a great view and definitely got some great pics of this guy. People were going crazy over him and I have to say that even I got a little star-struck....sad to say! Haha - I'm sure my mother will love hearing that! Well, tomorrow is Chad's birthday, so I'm sure we'll have more pictures to post.....hope you enjoy some of these pics from Endymion today and from last night.

P.S. - I'm still getting used to the photo-uploader on here and it's a pain, so that's why these are all out of order!

Endymion Parade

King Cake!!! (Just slightly addicting...)

Ladies and Gentlemen: Our Grand Marshall, KID ROCK!!!

Good Friends -- on St. Charles waiting for Morpheus parade to begin....

Cups!! Who cares about the beads...

Happy Valentine's Day...Our Last in New Orleans

Chad and I have had a wonderful weekend. I drove over to the MS Gulf Coast on Friday because Chad had a ministry interview with a potential church. So, before we left to go to the interview, I came into his house and found a sweet display of roses, petals, and a card he made for me on his new Macbook! Now, I eat this stuff up....I love it. Some people say they don't like Valentine's Day, I always have...and I especially love it now that I've got someone wonderful to share it with :)

After the interview, we came back to New Orleans and spent the weekend here. We started our day yesterday with breakfast at Slim Goodies on Magazine Street. We've been wanting to try it and it was pretty good. Magazine Street exhibits a whole new side of New Orleans life; you'll have to visit to understand what I mean! We then decided to rent "Fireproof" because everyone's been telling us to watch it. If you can get past some of the amateur acting, it really is a must-see. We loved it. I love Saturdays where we have the time to take it easy, go to breakfast, and come back and lay around and watch a movie....there's nothing better in my book! After that relaxing afternoon, Chad took me down to The Quarter to Arnaud's restaurant for a romantic Valentine's Dinner. It was so good. We really enjoy trying out all of the great restaurants in New Orleans (there are so many); this was definitely one of our favorites :) Chad's last present to me was a coffee table book that he made of our engagement pictures....it's perfect and something we'll keep for a lifetime. So, that was our weekend. We have one more weekend to kind of slow down and enjoy life, which will be next weekend for Chad's Bday and Mardi Gras. We're looking forward to it. Hope you all had a Happy Valentine's Day and a relaxing weekend. We love you....

Busy, busy, busy.....

Well, Chad and I literally have something going on every weekend until the wedding. It is such a fun time, but we are ready for life to settle down a little bit....ha ha (I know we're only kidding ourselves). From showers to picking out the wedding cake, from finishing up seminary to trying to prayerfully figure out where God is leading us....we truly are blessed to be on this road. For the first time in our lives we are unsure of where we will be at this next step in our journey, but we are learning each day to fully trust Him more. It really is exciting to think about where the Lord will lead us, together!! This is truly such a happy time in our lives and we couldn't be more blessed than to walk through this together. So, if you're interested or want to know how to pray for us (or simply want to hear the random details of our day-to-day lives), read on....we'll try and keep you updated.