'Letters from Home"

So I have been following my friend Kristen's family blog for awhile and she did the cutest thing last week and I wanted to borrow a page from her book. (Interestingly enough, she got the idea from a different Katie, haha Thanks ladies!)

Anyway, here are some letters to various people/things/ideas in my life...

Dear Snow,

Please stop reminding me why I left Ohio, I enjoyed my vacation but if I am going to move to Ohio I'll need you to tone it down a little. It doesn't seem to matter which direction I walk, you blow in my face and the little one, she doesn't like it. Also you make driving fairly cumbersome and Eric doesn't know what to do with you. Please just play nice.

Dear Addison,

As we get closer to your 1st birthday I am reminded just how close I came to losing you and it makes me sad. Our whole world revolves around you and how far you have come in the last 11 months. There is something truly amazing about you and Daddy and I are so happy to have you here with us and get to watch you smile, laugh, and grow.

Dear Alumni people for Alpha Chi Omega, Case Western Reserve University, University of South Carolina, Gamecock Club, Division of Student Affairs,

I understand that fundraising is a large component of making things move, but as an involved student I am a little stressed out about everyone claiming me for Alumni verification. Please stop calling/emailing/trying to trick me into a $150 bound edition of a book that lists everyone who every did the same thing as me in the history of the organization. I love being an alum and give as I can, but if I haven't called you in a year there is a reason. Please leave me alone I don't have a job that pays in money. Unless you would like baby drool. :o)

Dear Facebook,

It's not you, it's me. I cannot deal with all of your changes and I have a lot going on that you seem to get in the way of. I have to admit, I miss aimlessly wandering your pages but I have finished an entire 5 book series and I am looking forward to putting my baby's scrapbook pages together. I am sure you will go on without me.

Dear Eric,

You are such a great partner. Thank you for working so hard so that I could stay home with Addison this year while she was recovering. I'm so proud of you and everything you do. I would love it if you continue looking for a job that values you. Not just because it could be a raise, but also because you could spend more time with your girls and giving back to yourself. :o) You really need some more man-dates in your life.

Dear Apartment,

While I enjoy your spacious 1100 sq ft we are not willing to keep paying more and more for you. With that said when our lease is up in May, we will be leaving you. I am grateful for the last 15 months that we have shared but lets face it, an additional $70 a month just to stay in the exact same situation...we could be in a house. Sorry.

Thoughtfully,

Katie

(And for those of you wondering...we did get snowed in an extra day but we are now safely home! :o) Thank you for checking on us!)

"Giving Up"

So Valentine's Day has come and gone and Eric, Addison, and I enjoyed the holiday weekend together with snow! That's right we got a whole 6-8 inches of snow in the Low Country and it was totally gone and melted less than 24 hours later. What a perfect taste of winter! And still we are going to Ohio tomorrow...which means we will get a full 10 days of snow and cold winter weather. Eric is looking forward to throwing snow balls at me and I'm looking forward to sharing baby Addison with the Klay family! We are driving though, so that brings about an interesting twist because Eric has never driven in the snow...hmmm.

This posts title comes from Ingrid Michaelson's "Giving Up" and is the title because today is Ash Wednesday which signals the beginning of Lent and among other things calls us to give up something. It is supposed to be a sacrafice. As a little kid we gave up candy, but as we get older we try to give up our vices. For some it is smoking, Dr. Pepper, or fast food...me I'm giving up Facebook. I have come to relize just how much time I waste on Facebook and how many things are left undone in my house. So I have put together a list of things I will try to complete with all of my free non-Facebook time.

1. Finish Addison's 1 year scrapbook for her birthday (sadly I'm in month 5...)
2. Finish 4 just for me, non-mommy or field related books (that is one book every 10 days...)
3. Organize and purge our apartment so that when we move in May everything will be more simple.
4. Find a job... (okay that is sort of lofty but we'll see)
5. Start and complete my 5k program so I can run the March for Babies event in April for preemie awareness!

So here we go..."'Cause I am giving up, I'm giving up, for you"

"Little Houses"

So Eric and I have talked about a blog for a while, and finally decided it was time to take the plunge and journal for our family and friends. We both love music, so we are going with a lyrical theme for our titles..."Love Like Crazy" by Lee Brice is an amazing song that reminds us to try hard, never give up, and well - love like crazy. 

To start everyone out we thought we'd introduce ourselves with a Doug Stone classic, "Little Houses"
As young newlyweds, Eric and I are currently in a small apartment in South Carolina. We chose this song to kick us off because as Mr. Stone puts it, "love grows best in little houses, with fewer walls to separate, where you eat and sleep so close together, you can't help but communicate. Oh, and if we had more room between us, think of all we'd miss. Love grows best, in houses just like this."

I have a Masters from the University of South Carolina and a Bachelors from Case Western Reserve University and Eric graduated from Johnson and Wales University. We have one amazing little girl Addison and not a day goes by that she doesn't learn something new and all we can do is smile at her. Right now I'm staying at home with the little one and selling Scentsy Wickless Candles and Eric is working full time at a chain pharmacy.

I think that is it for today...I hope you enjoy this little look into our lives as we try to stay in touch with our friends and family spread all over the US. :o)