Praying for Boston

I'M SO EXCITED

So something big happened yesterday. Very big! Yesterday I got an email from Brittney asking me up to join her for something so exciting and so wonderful, I can't even believe I'm getting to go! You might be asking yourself: "What is this mysterious, wonderous thing she's talking about?" Well I'll tell you! BUT a bit of back story first...

My favorite band is Hanson. I fell in love with them when Mmmbop came out in 1997 and have been in love ever since. I used to watch the concert video of their Middle Of Nowhere tour over and over at home wishing I could meet Hanson or at least go to one of their concerts. I'd sing their songs at the top of my lungs in my room and then when I got older, I'd sing them at the top of my lungs in my car. And every time a new album came out, I'd buy it, of course. Finally in 2010 after, literally, years of waiting, I got to go to my first Hanson concert. It was at the House of Blues in Dallas and it was on their Shout It Out tour. My mom went with me. I was actually in Dallas because some friends were throwing me a couple of bridal showers so I stayed an extra day (skipped school and work on Monday) to go see Hanson and let me tell y'all....it was amazing. I even met Taylor and Ike afterwards, Zac was sick. And y'all. I don't usually get speechless, nor do I usually get starstruck. Now I don't run into celebrities all the time or anything but my mom was in a band most of my life and I guess just being around musicians taught me that they're just regular people too. But when I met Hanson, oh my gosh, was I ever starstruck. It was like I was 12 years old again. Ridiculous, but awesome too :)

Fast forward a couple of years, my husband is in med school and I meet Kristin, a fellow blogger and med school wife, in fact our husbands are in the same class. And I find out she's a Hanson fan! And she introduces me to Brittney another Arkansas blogger and guess what, she's a Hanson fan too! So of course we become friends; we email, blog, tweet and keep up with each other's lives...and Hanson. Well this is where yesterday happens. Hanson hosts a special weekend in May called Hanson Day where there are concerts and lots of events. Well you have to have a fan club membership to go and I've never had one but today, we got an email from Brittney. She was signing up and wanted to know if we'd go too. Kristin and I both talked to our husbands (who gave in very easily, we think it's because they know they don't have to go) and we got the go ahead. So Kristin, Brittney, and I are GOING TO HANSON DAY IN MAY!!!!!

I feel like a preteen writing this post but I just cannot contain my excitement, so please just bear with me. I am so excited and I cannot wait! A weekend full of Hanson and a special concert! We are going to have an awesome time, I can already tell.

Group Giveaway!

Hey Everyone!

I'm participating in an awesome group giveaway over at The Chronicles of Ruthie Hart. 7 prizes...7 winners! You should definitely go check out some of the awesome stuff you could win and then enter!

Wallace & Penny Pupdate

I've had part of this post written for awhile now but I just kept forgetting to post it! So here you go, an update on the cutest members of the Kee household!

Wallace and Penny are doing so well. They love each other so much and whenever they are separated aka not in the same area, they get upset. I love how much they enjoy each other. They play together, nap together, and they try to eat each other's food but mom and dad always spoil the fun!

Penny is 15 weeks old now and I had been trying to take pictures of her next to Wallace every week so we could watch her grow. However, sometimes playing is more interesting than taking pictures so they didn't want to cooperate.

The last time we took Penny to the vet she weighed in at a whopping 7.5 lbs! That was a couple of weeks ago so I'm sure she's upped that weight since then. The other day I looked at her on the couch and I could see adult Penny staring back at me. It's odd to have those moments where she looks more grown up than puppy now!

We really love being a two dog family and we're glad that Wallace made the transition so well. Penny did too, she made herself right at home. Wallace and Penny are just the best of friends and we love having these two Scots running-a-muck and getting into trouble around our house.

WILW & Oh How Pinteresting

linked up with This Kind of Love

Today...

I'm loving that yesterday we got out early due to ice and today we are delayed two hours :)

I'm loving that my mom is coming to visit us this weekend.

I'm loving that we placed membership at a church and I really love our small group and cannot wait to become more involved.

I'm loving that I finished reading Persuasion by Jane Austen. It was beautiful and wonderful.

I'm loving my sweet furbabies. Wallace and Penny are the best of friends and they're so cute together.

I'm loving my wonderful husband. He's incredible.

Here are some pins I'm loving...

linked up with The Vintage Apple

pretty way to display your dish soap

coat with lace overlay = love

coat with bow = love again

monogram keys for mrs. kee please!

beautiful

dainty

good to know!

Scottie in the snow

all pins via pinterest

New Goals for a New Year

I don't normally do New Year's resolutions. I'm a bit of a pessimist when it comes to New Year's resolutions to be honest; I guess my cousin and I are in the same in that manner. So instead these are some aims I'd like to work towards this year. Maybe that's the same thing as a resolution but it feels different to me, more achievable in fact, and that's what matters right? And I know I'm a little late on the bandwagon but since I've been on Christmas break this whole time I'm starting my goals today (the day work starts back).

#1 Lose more weight and continue pursuing a healthier lifestyle. I've been on a bit of a break over the holidays but thankfully I've maintained my weight loss thus far which I'm pretty proud of. I want to keep pushing, keep learning, and keep losing. To read more of my story read here, here, and here.

#2 Develop a cleaning plan and implement it. I really don't enjoy cleaning and while there are some things I do regularly, I need to do a better job of having a regular cleaning routine. I think it'd make me a lot happier and more relaxed. Instead of doing a massive clean up that takes awhile and is stressful, I'll do a little bit every day. I've developed this cleaning plan for us and I plan to implement it starting today! You can find the pdf for it here.

#3 Sew. My Nanna recently taught me some of the basics of sewing and I now have my own sewing machine. I really want to continue sewing and learn more about sewing. Something I'd like to achieve this year is sewing curtains for our spare living space. It's going to be a big task, there are 5 large windows so that's 10 panels to sew but it's something I'd really like to accomplish. I'm currently on the search for the perfect fabric at the right price!

learning to sew on my machine with Downton Abbey on in the background

#4 Be more creative with speech therapy. This fall I started doing several weekly themes for my speech therapy munchkins. I'd like to continue that this semester and then make it even better next year. I also want to aspire to be more focused on the quality of the therapy I'm providing, not the duration. To explain, working in a school I see a new kid(s) every 30 minutes so I'm constantly watching the clock to see what time it is and what I need to do next. My friend Charissa (a fellow SLP) recently did a post about this and it really inspired me. While still staying on schedule, I want to worry about the clock less and concentrate more on the quality of the therapy I'm providing.

#5 Spend more time with God (in prayer and study). This is the most important goal of all. I really want to focus on the Lord and my relationship with Him in every way. From praying more every day to spending more time in His Word. I plan on using these two books to help me do this.

Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Women of the Bible by Spangler and Syswerda

So those are the things I'd like to work on and improve upon. Not only will these stimulate me spiritually, mentally and creatively but I think they'll help me grow as well. Here's to new goals in a new year! 

Our Lucky Penny: The Whole Story

Now that you've met our sweet Penny, I want to tell you the whole story so get comfy and settle in for a long post! When we started talking about what we wanted to do for our anniversary gift this year Hubby made the joke "well we could always get another puppy!" and we both laughed...but as the laughter died away we both started seriously considering it, going back and forth, listing reasons why it'd be a good idea. We decided we'd keep it as an option and the more we discussed it, the more it made sense, so after a couple months of talking it was decided: we were adding a second dog to our family!

We knew we wanted a puppy since Wallace is so young. We wanted him to have a playmate with the same energy and excitement he has! And we knew we wanted a girl. I was also hoping we could get a wheaten Scottie, a color that's harder to find. I had never seen one in person, only in pictures, but I thought they were so beautiful and I loved the idea of having a black Scottie and a wheaten Scottie. I looked and looked but I had a really hard time finding a breeder I trusted. Then in October everything changed when I got an email concerning a litter being expected from Rocky Creek Scotties, this litter would most likely have wheaten pups! Lynn from Rocky Creek and I had become friends through our blogs and our love of Scotties. I've also been following her blog since before Wallace was born so to say I was happy when I received her email would be an understatement. We patiently waited for the birth of the puppies to see if there was a wheaten girl in the litter for us. While we had talked with some people about getting a second dog, this was the point where we decided not to tell anyone when we'd be bringing a puppy home!

On October 23 our sweet furbaby girl was born along with 3 brothers and 1 sister. We were so excited when we heard from Lynn!  As Penny grew and grew, I loved reading Lynn's posts about how the puppies were doing. I got so excited whenever I saw there was a new Rocky Creek Scotties blog post in my reader and I had such a difficult time not sharing her growth with y'all! So here are some pictures of Penny growing up:

1. in utero, if you look closely you can see 5 little puppy bodies

2. five beautiful, snuggly pups

3. protective mama

4. sweet Penny's debut at one day old!

Penny weeks 1 - 9

We took a birthday/anniversary trip to the town where Rocky Creek Farm is located and picked Penny up on my birthday, December 27. We got a cozy cabin with a fireplace and took Wallace along with us. It was also wonderful to finally meet Lynn, her husband, and Penny's parents. Our trip was definitely an adventure: due to weather, we had to leave Arkansas later than planned and then head home from Virginia early than planned, it was crazy and we're still recuperating. 

So that brings us to today! 

Wallace and Penny are getting along so well and they are just so cute to watch. They play, they wrestle, they cuddle, they nap together. Whenever they are not in the same room they are searching for the other and desperate to reunite. I'm so glad they like each other. 

Penny {10 weeks} & Wallace

I can already tell these two will be getting into a lot of trouble together :) I hope you've enjoyed reading the story of our sweet Penny girl. We're still pretty excited! We love Penny so much already and we're so glad she's part of our family.