We are Homeowners! (Almost/Kind of)

Bo & I are in the process of buying a house!!! We are so excited!! We even did some "Big Trash" raiding and got some gems to help fill our new home. God has really worked out all of the details, and given us peace throughout this process. We are still leaning on Him to keep working out the details with the home inspection, loan, and all that fun stuff. It really has been a great process and we are having so much fun planning and dreaming of the things that will happen in our home. I have posted some pics below!

The Conrad Family

For those of you who don't know, my maiden name is Conrad. I think we are a pretty flippin sweet family! :) hehe I mean, how can we not be from the pics below.

The Conrad Ladies - My momma, Roxanne & sister, Shauna

The whole fam, minus my brother-in-law.

Pics are Up!

I finally uploaded my pictures on my Picasa site - http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinKessler246

As depressing as the prolonged winter was getting, I had some great times this Winter. Bo & I did a lot of traveling because his older brother, Scott, and my older sister, Shauna, both turned 30 this year. We had suprise parties in Columbus and Cleveland with a week of each other, but we had a blast celebrating with them!

Bo & I celebrated our 3rd anniversary by spending a weekend in Perrysburg at the Hilton Garden Inn, and dinner at The Melting Pot in Toledo. It's an awesome fondue restaurant! It's a really fun environment to spend a couple of hours (that's right - a couple) enjoying a 4-course meal, and fellowship with my man. Unfortunately, I got a really bad cold and just laid in bed all day Saturday, but at least we had cable tv at the hotel! :) haha

Another fun adventure I had was a "Girls Night Out," which was a Christmas present for my friend Molly, or Mols... :) We had a sweet time catching up, praying for one another, laughing, crying, and encouraging one another. Maybe it will become a little tradition!

Well, after a debrief of winter, I am already loving Spring, and have been getting my butt outside and exercising! I love how God stirs our hearts, and blesses us by bringing color back into the world!

The Sun'll Come Out.....

at 6 PM tonight, and then probably not again for a few days... blah! I have been finding myself having the same conversations, or introductions, with people "this weather is so crappy; it's so nasty outside," I think those paint the picture enough. So today, I was thinking "it really doesn't make me feel any better to complain, so why don't I start being more positive, appreciative, and thankful for the weather, or whatever the circumstance." My grumbling and complaining does not move me towards Christ, and it doesn't even make me feel better!

Goal for this week: When I roll into work, the post office, the bank, etc. my conversations will be filled with thanksigiving and cheer!

The Buffer Zone

So, I didn't really watch Seinfeld growing up. I think my family did, or at least my brother, but I don't think I was reallly into it (and I was usually too busy playing sports). Anywho. I am watching an episode and Jerry & Kramer are at the movies. Jerry makes Kramer move over a seat, so there's a space in between them, and it's called the "buffer zone." So I was telling Bo how my best friend Sarah, and I, had a "buffer zone" at the movies when we were little, but big enough to go to movies by ourselves. Our "buffer zone" was a spare seat for a pretend boyfriends! haha Now... why the boyfriends couldn't sit on the outsides I don't know, but we needed a sit in between.

Good Times, Great People

I hosted my first Tastefully Simple party today, and it turned out great! There was a perfect number of people to fit in our quaint living/dining room area, lots of yummy food to pass, and old friends amongst new. It truely was a splendid time. Although it is funny when your "world's collide." Bo & I always talk about that about weddings. It's like you want everyone to meet everyone, and tell them all about what you love about "these people," and your history with them. Now, after the fact, I should have just done an introduction for everyone, and shared what I love about them! :) Maybe next time! Or maybe I'll blog it and then they all can read it! Ha!

Christmas Present, Future, and Past

Another Christmas, and another year has come and passed. I love Christmas. I love the tree's, the lights, the excitement of presents - giving & getting. Now it is all over, but the fun is still lingering. I got a Wii for my birthday, and some games for Christmas (Guitar Hero World Tour & Wii Fit), which has been keeping Bo & I quite entertained during the time off we have had for the holidays. God bless GreenLine (where I work)! They have us Thursday & Friday of the last 2 weeks off, and it has been fabulous. It was great to be able to spend more time at home over Christmas, and Bo & I have had a lot of fun hanging out over my little New Year's break. We have seen 2 movies - The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons, and Marley & Me. Both are good, but Mom - you can't watch Marley and Me! I have spent hours at Panera the last few days reading, and chatting with my husband. I had fun taking random pictures of Bo & I in the car as we were shopping around on Friday - pictures can be found at http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinKessler246

So, I thought I would blog about my Christmas revelation, instead of putting off & never getting around to it. One Sunday morning while I was praying with some others before our church service started, I felt led to pray for what was the upcoming holiday season. I prayed that instead of parents trying to lure their children into "being a good girl or boy" to please Santa, what if children learned about the amazing gift of grace and forgiveness that Jesus bore into the world. I am not criticizing or saying it's wrong to use some seasonal motivation for the childrens, because I am not a parent and will probably do the same thing! :) This was just something that clicked in my heart this season.