Shameless Plug! And a little bit of Chet!!

So since I still have no access to all our Christmas/family pictures and now I can't seem to get this darn computer to read my other memory cards you are all stuck with words and any pictures that I can find already on my Mom's computer!!

For the last few months Jimmy has been devoting much of his spare time building a new website for his new side business. It is an insurance website, you can go there to get FREE quotes on lots of different types of insurance! All you do is select which type or types you are interested in, fill out the form and then receive and email with the free quotes. You won't get any calls or contact other than the email. A friend at Jimmy's work did it and it ended up being like $800 bucks cheaper a year so he switched. It also offers free information and advice on how to choose the best insurance or different types of insurance. We are trying to get as many people as possible to visit the website and fill out the forms because it helps boost the site on Google, and the higher it is ranked the better it will do. Since we have been without insurance we are trying to use this website to help us in getting either private insurance or having the extra money to put aside for fun things like trips to the Dentist and Pediatrician :), You know us Kelley's are always getting to the fun things, don't hate. Anyway any visits to the site or forms filled out are appreciated more than words can say, really!! I will leave a link here or you can visit centralinsurance.org to check it out!! Again, thanks in advance! Love to you

My "awesome" BIL Chet photo bombing a picture of the kids at Disneyland!!


The kids getting Chet back for photo bombing them and winning!!!! :)

Sunday Scripture! A Year In Review

Matthew 22: 37-40

37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt ^alove the Lord thy God with all thy ^bheart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy ^cmind.

38 This is the first and great ^acommandment.

39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt ^alove thy neighbour as thyself.

40 On these two commandments hang all the ^alaw and the prophets.

As 2009 comes to a close I find myself reflecting on all that has come about in the last year. It has been a year of ups and downs but mostly ups. How can I complain even for a moment when all the trials that the first half of the year brought were more than made up for with the blessings that followed! Jimmy losing his job ended up being one of the best things that has happened for our family, we were fortunate to have all that time with him and then when employment found him again it took us to a place unexpected, yet exactly where we needed to be. I have found the transition to be seamless, it fits like a glove, I don't really know how else to explain it. The friends I have made in such a short time are women I have come to love and admire and pray to know them for many many years to come!

It has also allowed me to be reminded of the wonderful friends I have in Las Vegas, the ones that I talk with regularly on the phone, through emails/facebook/blogging. I am grateful for technology that allows me to keep up with all that are far from me, I miss you and feel blessed to call you friends no matter where we might end up.


I am excited for the year ahead, for what may come, for what might be and for the lessons we will undoubtedly learn. Watching my children grow faster than I could ever permit, if it were up to me, has been a true joy in my life.


-Lexi is truly blossoming into a young women, she is a loyal daughter, sister and friend. She has such a happy heart and kind spirit although we are working on establishing just who is the mother of the household!


-Grace is full of spunk, she is making that transition between little kid to "big kid" and her wit just seems to increase in the process. I love her hugs and kisses and also her ability to find her independence, she is ready to take on the world, but she also loves to cuddle with me in her "off" time.


-James is turning into the 2 year old that is learning all the naughty things possible just to make sure I stay alert! I love his mischievous grin as he does the opposite of what I say. I seem to be much more relaxed in my parenting with him and while that could result in his one day criminal record, I guess I am rolling the dice and taking my chances.


Of all the gifts that my children received from us this year the most important is that of our time. My children will only remember that when they are grown, the trips to the park when I go down the slide with them, the road trips to visit relatives, time spent baking in the kitchen with them, all of the time just holding them on my lap or rubbing their backs and singing them to sleep. That is what I want to work on this year is doing all of those things more often, I am not a perfect mom by any stretch of the imagination but I try everyday to teach them of good things and to prepare them to be productive members of society. I know that I must continue in that same vane and then more, less time worrying about my "dirty house" and more time spent with my family.





The Lord has blessed us, has blessed me and I hope all good things for all of you in the this coming year. If your family has been challenged in finding employment or if you have lost a loved one, made a big move, had a big change or all of the above know that my thoughts and prayers are with you, I love you and wish all good things for you!!




I would love to post pictures from Christmas but as of now they are trapped on my memory card and it crashed so until I can retrieve them through a data recovery company or software program I have NONE! :(

Sunday Scripture! Good Better Best!

I must apologize for my lack luster blogging, it just seems I haven't had anytime to blog with all the sewing, photo editing, packing, concerts and activities going on in the last month or so!! I have had this post in my head for a week now and I have to get it up before another Sunday passes!!

Last week my wonderful friend Jen gave the lesson in YW on the talk given in October 2007 General Conference by Dallin H. Oaks entitled "Good, Better, Best". I heard the talk and then read it and have discussed it many times and yet for some reason it really hit me as we were discussing it with the girls. Perhaps because I have been so busy lately, or maybe because our family has spent the last year reworking our priorities that I decided in that moment that I really needed to look at my time and make sure it is well spent. I grew up in a household where my parents made sure to teach us the importance of not wasting time, and we are working hard on teaching our children the same principal. Jimmy and I made a decision a few years ago while I was serving first in scouts and then YW and Jimmy was in the YM that we would not allow our children to regularly skip out on church activities for sports or other clubs. We decided that for us, it is more important that our children are spiritually fed and uplifted than it is for them to advance in athletics or "intellectual" activities. Of course we want them to participate in those other "Good" things also, but if we fill their time with all the "Good" things there won't be time for the "Best" things.

This sentiment holds true for both Jimmy and I as well, there are so many worth while things we could do and have done but we must make sure that the "Best" things come first. As in ;

• Reading our scriptures
• Attending our church meetings
• Spending time as a family
• Serving those in need and each other
• Going to the temple
• Writing in our Journals
• Having FHE (family home evening)
• Serving in our Callings for church

There are so many wonderful things for us to be working on that we must really learn to put them all in the "right" order. The past few days I have been blessed to spend some amazing time with my extended family, it has been a wonderful reminder that our time is precious and we must make the most of each moment. We should let our loved ones know they are on the top of our lists, not just around the holidays but the entire year through.

All my love

The Invisible Woman

A friend posted this and I just had to share!! Just take the few min to watch, I promise you won't be disappointed!!!

No 7 Year Itch Here!

Today my husband and I celebrate 7 years of wedded bliss! I mean c'mon we really are the perfect couple, we've never fought or even raised our voices in all 7 years!! Amazing, right? Ok so maybe that isn't quite accurate, but I can say that we haven't done it today!

In all seriousness I really am a lucky girl to have found the one to put up with me, cherish me, love me and stand beside me when I was just a wee sprite of 9 years old! I don't really remember not ever loving him! He truly is my strength and if I have ever done anything right, it was marrying him. One of my most favorite things about Jimmy is his laugh, it can get just about anyone to smile, those of you who have heard it are smiling right now just thinking about it! It starts from the bottom of his feet and fills him up and then he bursts, throwing his head back as if it were the funniest thing he ever said/did/heard in his life! One day I need to capture it on video so if he is ever far away I can just play it over and over!

I love his strengths and his weaknesses, he has proved to be the perfect man for me over and over again. I feel blessed for every moment that passes and he is my eternal mate!

Let me count the ways

Top 7

7. His good work ethic

6. His smile

5. His spirit

4. When he helps me cook/clean/do laundry

3. When he tells me to go be with my friends for an evening

2. When he calls me from work just to say hello

1. When he hugs me just when I am about to have a nervous break down!

Dear Jimmy,

I look up to you and lean on you, and not just because you are big and tall, but because your gentle support is exactly what I need to get through the day. I am grateful to have you as my partner in parenting and in crime, we are like; Bonnie & Clyde, Bert & Ernie, Johnny & June, Froto & Sam, James T. Kirk & Spock, chips & salsa, water & lemmons, flint & steal, one of us is just no good without the other! I love you, may there be many more fun years to come!!

"New.........Old Moon"

I know that it has been a few weeks since the "Blockbuster" release of "New Moon", but since life has gotten a wee bit busy as of late I am just now getting to this post. I am not your "traditional" Twilight fanatic, I am, well how do I say this, I have never read the books and when I saw New Moon I had only seen moments of Twilight. I think in many ways this made me the perfect candidate for the unbiased perspective!

My Blog, My Perspective

As a whole the movie was not bad, it wasn't the best one I had seen but I really had no complaints, but mostly due to a character by the name of Jacob!! Yowza!! (call me a cougar if you must)

A short Synopsis of each character

Edward
Oh Edward, you skinny, pasty, sparkly, scary vampire? Why so serious? You really were so much better when you were alive and your name was Cedric Diggory. Your hair was neat and your skin was warm to the touch, you interacted with your peers and your skin didn't sparkle. It was unfortunate that your death was at the hands of Lord Voldemort, but turning to sparkly Vampires for eternal life is a little desperate don't you think? Quit playing hard to get like you are still in High School, I mean I know you are, but not for the first time by any means, so pull it together man!! Your weak attempts to deter Bella are just uneducated, don't you know that if you are nice to her she will leave you alone!! Sheesh man!!


Bella,
Where to begin? Bella, you are what I refer to as a "Manipulative Damsel in Distress". You are the kind of girl that manipulates men/boys by using your depressed, melancholy ways to make them think you are mysterious and interesting. You change to be whomever you are with, I mean would you have honestly said you wanted to be a Vampire your entire life and finally your dreams came true when you met Ed? I don't think so, I think if he had been a UFC fighter you would have decided that is always what you had wanted to be. Women/girls like you are afraid to be who they really are because for some reason they think that they won't be excepted, although if you are always that much of a downer can you blame them.?! I think your character is one dimensional and needs growth!


Jacob,
Perfection! OK, OK I won't just leave it at that. While it was hard at times to not picture you with a shark fin on your back, for the most part I had no problem with you. You are the "nice guy" who isn't appreciated by the over hyped, dark and dreary girl you dig. That is why you should find yourself a nice girl who likes good guys, and while I am spoken for I have a younger sister that is closer to your age and when she brings you around just remind me now and again to wipe the drool off my chin!



Dr. Carlisle Cullen,
It is finally your moment in the Sun, or I mean clouds, since the Sun makes you sparkle! For so long you have only been known for marrying Kelly Taylor, or I mean Jennie Garth, that you have been overlooked. Well not anymore, you are the "Making a name for yourself" kinda guy, you are "bringing home the bacon" the "bread winner" and "wearing the pants", good for you! I actually enjoy your character, other than your paleness, you are handsome and soft spoken. You give a much better name to Vampires, other than the fact that you sparkle. You try not to kill people, unless it is James, who was my favorite by the way, but I guess since he was not really human than it doesn't really count, so all is forgiven.



Final Word

Since recently seeing the first movie, I am glad that they decided to spend more than 10 dollars on the production of New Moon! It made it much more enjoyable. While in many respects watching the movies has made me want to read the books less, it isn't for the reasons some might think. It's not because the movies were soooo bad that I refuse to read them, but more because it reminds me too much of parts of High School. I dated a vampire of sorts in a previous life and I have no desire to revisit that, thank you very much!

Oh and if for no other reason than the Pre-Party I will be going to see the next one as well!! Thanks Kari and ladies for making it such a fun night!!! I am a bit bummed that I didn't get a group shot of everyone, but I was too distracted by the food!!

The "Formal" cutting of the cake!!

mmmm, so yummy and Zebra striped!

Kelli how do you manage to have food in your mouth EVERYTIME!! LOL!!

Kari you really just went BEYOND!!! You Rock!! Thanks for doing all this for us to enjoy!!

Seriously glad you and I have become friends Miss Kari!!!