Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Heavy Heart

My heart is so so heavy thinking of the children, families and community of Newtown, CT.  Continuing to pray for all those affected by yesterday's tragic event.

Deuteronomy 31:6  Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”


Til next time ~ hug your kids tight, and hug your kid's teachers.
Kelly

Sunrise

Sunrise this morning...

God is great.

Til next time ~ find your joy!

Kelly

Sixteen Years

Easter Sunday, 1996.

Sixteen years ago today my mom passed away.  It feels like so long ago and like yesterday all at the same time.  While the pain of losing her isn't as fresh anymore, I miss her more than I can express in words.  Especially on holidays.  Especially on Easter.

Miss you, mom.

Keep watching over all of us.

Til next time ~ find your joy!
Kelly

 

2012 Word of the Year

Since January is almost over, I thought it was time to get this post written.  I've been thinking about it for a couple of weeks now.

It seems that many in the blogosphere are choosing a word of the year instead of listing out their new year resolutions.  As I thought through all the events that affected my life last year, all the changes we went through, and what I wanted to accomplish in 2012, I thought choosing a word was the way to go.  I still have specific goals I plan to accomplish this year, but this one word is at the core of all of them.

My 2012 word is  BELIEVE

I think this word was subliminally planted inside me from my Weight Watcher meetings, but whatever works, right?

It's such a fitting word for me.  I know in my very soul that if I just believe in myself, I can accomplish great things.

In 2012 I will...
~ believe that I can accomplish my health goals
~ believe that I can accomplish my weight loss goals (while this is tied to my health goals, it is definitely a different goal)
~ believe that I can be a happier, deeper, more inspired version of me
~ believe that I can learn to use my camera in manual mode and be a more confident and competent photographer

I will touch more on each item periodically throughout the year, definitely sharing more details - my S.M.A.R.T (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, timely) goals for you business peeps out there - and how things are progressing.  Accountability is my friend.  Right?

I think I actually put off writing this post for that very reason.  If it wasn't in print, if I didn't put it out there, there was no accountability, no pressure, I could fudge or modify what I wanted to do.  I can still do that, but now I have to do it knowingly and on purpose.  It's not just my little secret anymore.

I hope you made goals for 2012.  Whether they are public or private, they are yours and yours alone to do with what you will.  But let's be honest, success rocks!  And a little accountability never hurt anyone. There will be bumps in the road, in my road for sure, but we'll get over them and keep on truckin'.

                                                                                           Source: Uploaded by user via Beverly on Pinterest

BELIEVE.

Til next time ~ find your joy!
Kelly

Christmas Eve

It's a quiet Christmas Eve at our house.  We opened a couple of presents tonight to stave off the anticipation of our celebration Christmas Day evening when Luke (daughter #1's fiance) arrives.

I hope your Christmas celebration is all you hope it will be as you celebrate our savior's birth.

"For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace" (Isaiah 9:6)

'Til next time ~ find your joy!

Joy & Peace

Kelly

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!

Hoping your Christmas is filled with happiness, love and peace.

Love,
     The McKees

In Remembrance

Miss you dad.

Thank you to all the men and women who've given their life defending our freedom and to all those, past and present, who've served in our armed forces.  There are no words that can express my heartfelt thanks for all you do.  God bless you.

Happy Memorial Day

'Tis the Season

Merry Christmas to all!

October Sunset

Longs Peak

Purple Mountain Majesty...God certainly knows what he's doing...

Peace,
Kelly

Memorial Day 2010

The poem "In Flanders Fields" was written after John McCrae witnessed the death, and presided over the funeral, of a friend, Lt. Alexis Helmer.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

    Scarce heard amid the guns below.

    We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

        In Flanders fields.

    Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

    We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

Take a moment today to remember those who've served and sacrificed to keep us free.

 
 

 

God Bless

Kelly

Jesus, could you get that for me?

I've seen this floating around email for a while, and decided to post on One Woman's Blog. It's relevant, and something we should never forget. However you feed your soul with God's word, I hope you are well nourished.

A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor of a newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every Sunday. "I've gone for 30 years now," he wrote, "and in that time I have heard something like 3,000 sermons. But for the Life of me, I can't remember a single one of them. So, I think I'm wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all."

This started a real controversy in the "Letters to the Editor" column, much to the delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this clincher: "I've been married for 30 years now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But, for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals but I do know this... they all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!"

When you are DOWN to Nothing... God is UP to something! Faith sees the invisible, believes the incredible and receives the impossible! Thank God for our physical AND our spiritual nourishment!

"When Satan is knocking at your door, simply say, "Jesus, could you get that for me?"

Life on Mars

Life is full of twists and turns. Sometimes, it's exciting and exhilarating and sometimes it just wears you out and you want to take a nap. But, I'm a firm believer that God does not give us more than we can handle, so during those tough, tiring times, we buckle down and work through it, and surprisingly enough, we survive-- and usually come out in a better place than we started.

In early February, for the second time in a little over three years, I became part of a statistic--part of the 8.1% of Americans that are unemployed as I was downsized out of a job. While disappointing and frustrating, I can say with confidence that it was much easier the second time around.

I'm also a believer that things happen for a reason. Two years ago, when I first accepted the job here in Colorado (the one I just lost), I thought this was my big time career opportunity-- my big break. But 6 months into our adventure I realized it was just a means to get us to Colorado. The real reason we were here was to spend time with my husband's father, who passed away this past New Year's Eve.

But I also learned that my 2 year stint was preparing me for my next great adventure. I've worked with and for entrepreneurs for the last two years. My experiences, responsibilities and the environment have given me the know-how and the confidence to believe in myself and start my own business. What a revelation! I'm tired of working so hard and such long hours for someone else, and relying on them for my paycheck.

So, Writewell Media is about to be born! I'm excited, exhilarated and scared, all at the same time!

This would be one of those turns in the road!

Do you watch Life on Mars? Talk about your life being turned upside down! A cop from 2008 is hit by a car and wakes up in 1973. Can you imagine suddenly being thrust back to 1973, away from those you love and trying to adapt to life without the conveniences of today? It was the year of Roe vs Wade and the start of Watergate and an oil crisis. It was the year the World Trade Center in NYC became the tallest building in the world and the US withdrew troops from Vietnam. Inflation was over 6% and the unemployment rate hovered around 4.9%. Chrysler and other car makers closed plants and laid off more than 100,000 employees. In a tennis match billed as the battle of the sexes, Billy Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs. Elvis crooned to more than 1 billion viewers during his televised Aloha From Hawaii concert. Skylab, the United States' first space station, was launched.

Surfing online for these tidbits of history, it really emphasized to me that our country has been through tough times before and we made it through. We will again, just as I will live to work another day. What's the saying...'that which does not kill us, makes us stronger'...or something like that.

Well, I'm off to bed. It's supposed to start snowing in the wee hours of the morning and we're suppose to get 12-15 inches of snow-- which is badly needed as we've only had .29 inches of precipitation since Jan 1st. Woohoo! I'm ready!

Til next time...I hope the next turn in your road leads you to someplace wonderful!

Looking Through My Lens

Dad, why did you buy her that camera?

This is an often posed question from my 16 year old daughter, one of the main subjects of my lens and trigger finger. A year and a half ago, for our 22nd wedding anniversary (yes, I was married when I was twelve…lol) my wonderful husband bought me a new digital camera. My husband, being the electronics nut that he is, researched all the best sellers and settled on one he thought I would like and would do what I wanted it to do. So naturally, now, for every event, for every drive up in the mountains, holiday or just because, I’m snapping pictures right and left, up and down, and sideways. I’ve taken more photographs in the last year than I have in the previous five years, trying to capture that oh so perfect moment in time.

Today, my husband and I were going through my father-in-law’s photo books and keepsakes trying to find the perfect photos and momentos to tell the story of his nearly nine decades. My father-in-law passed away December 31st at the age of 88. His memorial service is next Monday. He lived with us for the last year and a half and while it wasn’t always easy, it was worth it. My husband was able to reconnect with his father, and my youngest daughter and I were all able to hear the many stories of his life, of his childhood and the years before we knew him.

My father-in-law had many photo books and loose photos he’d collected over the years. We have them spread out on the dining room table, black and white and faded color photos of the people he loved. We are creating vignettes to put on picture boards so we can share and celebrate his life through pictures.

I love photographs. They capture a moment in time that is otherwise easily set aside or forgotten. So, my daughter (and everyone else) will just have to live with my camera in their face.

Because I never want to forget.
originally posted January 10, 2009