The light

It is time for me to open up. For the last handle of years I have not been myself. I used to be outgoing, fearless, and wouldn't let a negative thing get the best of me. I am not even sure where it happened but it did and I have felt it everywhere.

Being pregnant with J and becoming a mom for the first time helped bring me back to my old spirit. Sadly though, it wasn't enough. You see from a young age I knew I wanted to be a mom. I was lucky enough to to grow up having my mom be a stay at home mom. I wanted to be like her and take care of my family. To be there when one of my kids leaves their lunch bag behind. To be able to surprise them at school. And most important, to not miss their firsts. 

Once I decided to sell Mary Kay, I thought I would just try to make some extra money. As I started going to more events I quickly realized that my calling wasn't only to be a mom but to lead others. I set my goals high to become a director. Meaning I would lead and empower others to reach their own goals. To help them earn what they need most in their life. 

Since I made this decision I have become a better person all around. I surround my self around other dedicated, God driven individuals and the inspiration just pours out! I am a happier person, I walk taller, stand straighter and most best of all...I don't give up. The old me would throw my hands up and say "I'm done. It's too hard." I have gained enough confidence to battle anything thrown my way. 

The people I am around are so supportive. Many other environments of my life is too focused on bringing each other down. Where as Mary Kay lifts one another up. Alongside the goals I have by tomorrow, I also have a new goal. To never stop trying. 

The push God has given me will open up so many doors for me. I can finally be at home with my son. I can do what I love. I can spend my days making people feel good about themselves. I can be a part of a company that respects me and rewards me for working hard. I can be able to not have a car payment. I can actually do activities with my son. I can get paid the amount I deserve for the hard work I do. I can go to empowering not events with my husband to help our relationship. I can see the good in others. Lastly, I can serve the Lord by working the life he wanted me too. 

For those of you who read this, thank you. Now you can truly feel where I am coming from. Why wouldn't I want others to feel this way? 

The Start of a New Day! Previously known as Happily Ever Kellar

Hello all!

A new day is something we all long for. It gives us a chance to start fresh, turn a new leaf, be a new you. We are always given a way to start over. So why not?

I am going to be a pretty open book on here. Starting...now. I have always been the type of person who wants everything all figured out! I would ask my mom what we would be having for dinner while eating lunch. I enjoy planning and knowing what is coming up next. Some may say that this could be a good trait to have. For me it turned into something evil.

As I got older I would try to plan my life way too much. When I was in my last year of college I was so determined to find a job. I needed to know what I would be doing, where I would be living and how much money I would make. Let me tell you, this is not the way to live. I would worry so much about succeeding or failing and not knowing which would take place.

My mother would always say to me that God has a plan for me and that he wouldn't give me anything I couldn't handle. At the times I needed to hear it most is when I should have really listened!

To make a long story short, I have always been the one to have a dream and go for it. But if something too hard shook the dream, I would doubt myself and give up.i have juggled ideas around of starting my own boutique, become a teacher, get into fitness. Stay home and nanny and  start a photography business (whoops, took that one too far). None of these things worked out for me so I just wanted to give up. It wasn't until recently that I really soaked in what my mom has been telling me all of these years. Obstacles have been placed before me not to bring me down , but to help mold me into a better person. To analyze my strengths and weakness ghat God gave me. 

It sounds silly to me to say this but the moment I held Jamison in my arms for the first time, I knew my purpose was to be a mom. Anything else I ever wanted to do went out the window. Unfortunetly in this day and age we can't stay at home and raise our kids that easily. Mostly both parents have to work! 

I work full time and do some things here and there to make extra money. I most recently joined an outstanding Mary Kay team! At these meetings I heard someone say how Mary Kay has helped her be a better person, follower of Christ, mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend! The moment I heard that, I knew that's where I needed to be! I am setting myself up for not just sales goals but personal growth goals as well. I want to be a working mom to show Jamison what hard work looks like. But I also want to do that from home so I can take him to preschool and bawl like a baby myself. Wish me luck! I will be updating as life goes by! 

The moral of the story here is to never give up. If you get frustrated, know there is a new day ahead of you wipe yourself clean and start over. Our God has given this to us. For that we should be great fun for! 

Jamison is now 3 months old and Baptized!

Our little Jamison has really grown up in the past few months. We have started to belly laugh when dad is tickling him, rolling over when having tummy time, and sleeping thru the night.

He is growing up so fast that he is in 6 month clothing and gives mom and dad quite the arm workout these days! We are all about smiling and flirting with the ladies! Here are some 3 month photos I have taken of him. Family pictures was taken by my sister Kim. 

Today we celebrated Jamison being baptized into the Catholic Church! It was such a wonderful day for celebration! We started the day by having a family breakfast at our favorite breakfast joint, down the street from our house. We then took some photos that describes the day.  We went to mass, then had the baptism. We had a nice celebration at our house afterwards with family. Jamison's Godparents are my sister Amy and her husband Troy! 

Welcome to the world Mr Jamison!

Since the last post (about 20 weeks of pregnancy) a lot has happened! Obviously by now I would have had my baby, so that is what I am going to share with you. The rest of my pregnancy went pretty well for the third trimester. I got your typical symptoms of not being able to sleep, getting swollen, rocking the pregnancy waddle, oh and having to pee what feels like every 5 minutes!

I had one time that I had to go to the hospital. I was 35 weeks and ended up having a stomach virus. It was really bad. I have not been that sick in a really long time. I could not keep any fluids down so we had to make a little visit to triage to have an iv put in. Baby was being tracked and was doing just fine. Thankfully this was only a 24 hour thing.

Fast forwarding towards the very end. I had a check up with my doctor the day before he was due. I mentioned that I didn't feel him move as much as he had been. Between that and the fact that my blood pressure was higher than it normally has been, my doctor asked me if I was ready to throw in the towel and go get induced. I was really hoping that my body would naturally go into labor, but when the opportunity was there for me to see my baby finally, I couldn't say no.

So I left the doctors office and went right over to the hospital to check in. Once I was in the delivery room, it felt so surreal. I changed into the gown I would give birth in and laid in the bed, mentally preparing myself for what was ahead of me.

They started me on cervidill, a medication inserted on your cervix to help ripen it. Eight hours later they found I was dilated to almost 2 cm so they broke my water and started petocin. Once my water was broken I could start to feel the contractions. It was not pleasant at all. I had every intention of getting an epidural, but it wasn't time yet. I had to experience the contractions for a while to be able to tell when I would need to start pushing when the time came. They offered me another pain medication that would temporarily numb the pain but would possibly make me feel sick, and the baby could come out drowsy. I did not want either of those things. Expecially since I felt nauseous anyways since they don't let you eat or drink anything. I decided to keep calm and ride through the contractions until they said it was fine to get the epidural.

Once I got the epidural (which I did not feel was as painful as they say) I was in great shape. I was able to talk to people again and actually allow Shaun to comfort me. Before that I didn't want to be touched or barely talked to. The rest of the labor flew by it felt like! I got that epidural at 4am, got checked at 7am and was dilated to a 5 and then at 10am was dilated to a 10 already and was ready to push! They placed this peanut looking exercise ball thing in between my legs and had me lay on my side. I guess that was supposed to help my body to naturally drop the baby more before I try pushing. Within that time I was texting and calling my loved ones telling them it was almost time and if they planned to be there for the birth, they should come ASAP! My two sisters Amy and Julie (both nurses) really wanted to be in the room. So I let them, making them promise to document it. Amy was in charge of the video and Julie, the pictures.

Aside from those duties I was lucky to have them with me! Between them, Shaun, the nurse and my doctor I felt extremely comfortable and motivated. They kept telling me with each push how great I was doing and when I needed to try harder. I am telling you, I have never been so motivated in my life. When my doctor said my pushes at the end of the sequence was stronger than the first two, I was so determined to make those first pushes just as strong. She let me touch his head when he was close to coming out too which kept me going. Pushing that hard will take your breath away though and you have to make sure you are pushing from the right spot. After the fastest hour and a half of my life Jamison was born right at noon on 12/17/2014. There where many tears in the room when he came out and had the cutest cry I have ever heard. He started to immediately open his eyes and look at us. I have never been so in love in my entire life. You can love your family, friends, pets and spouse certain ways but nothing can compare to the complete joy and love you have for your own child.

Now 3 weeks old, I still look at Jamison and can't believe that he is ours! With every smile he makes, my heart grows bigger.

Below are pictures that my sister Julie took for me of the big day!

 

 

 

Julie also made some sweet treats for the nurses on staff that day!

 

I love this picture! Captured the moment he was born. Shows the time and the board that has the date, my nurse and my doctor.

 

 

I am so happy to have these pics that she took of Shaun and I in between pushing.

 

 

 

 

My pregnancy so far

I have officially met the half way mark of my pregnancy! It's so hard to believe that in 20 more weeks we will get to meet our baby! I have stumbled across many blogs from other women describing their pregnancy. I found it very comforting if I read someone else's experience that was close to mine. They always say every pregnancy is different, which is so true. But it is nice to hear someone else went through what you went through.

I found out that I was pregnant really early. At about 4 weeks. For a few months before I had been being checked and tested to make sure I didn't have an ovarian cyst. Each month brought really abnormal periods (sorry) for me. Which was not something I was ever used to. About a month before we found out I was pregnant I had my first sonogram. It was so strange. Luckily for me there was no signs of a cyst or anything to be worried about. Just a change in my body I guess. So naturally I was waiting for my next period to show up to track it. Except this time, nothing happened. With it being so irregular I told myself to wait a little while. I normally would have at least some sign that it was on it's way, but this time I had nothing. In fact I was feeling pretty darn great! After about (almost) a full week of waiting for miss thang to show up, I decided to take a test. They always say to take a pregnancy test in the morning for best results. I couldn't wait any longer so I bought a couple tests and took one after work one evening. After my 3 minute wait I couldn't believe my eyes. Was this for real? A huge rush of happiness, confusion and anxiety started to swarm me!

Shaun wasn't home yet from work so I was trying to figure out what to do next. I always have blank cards at my house, so I wrote him one that simply said "congratulations". When I gave it to him he looked confused. "Congrats for what" he said. I then explained that I took a test and it was positive. He looked at me stunned and told me that I should take another just in case. And that I should go to the doctor to confirm. So I took the second test the next morning and it was still clear as day! I called my doctor and was able to get in that morning to get a blood test. Surely enough she also confirmed the pregnancy and that I was right around 2 weeks after conception which would be then calculated to 4 weeks in pregnancy time. When I called Shaun to let him know, he answered the phone immediately. I think he knew all along, but just wanted to play it safe.

It was hard to do what the books tell you to do. I went back to work that day and told almost everyone. I work at a small office, so when I called that morning saying I needed to go to the doctor ASAP, of course they wanted answers. Then Shaun showed up and brought me these delicious little bunt cakes to celebrate! It was a wonderful day!

The yummy cakes Shaun brought me!

On Easter when our families knew.

Everything felt just great. Enjoying those first moments of dreaming in baby colors...and then the scary happened. I woke up one morning to what felt like my period was about to show up. I was spotting pink which was very alarming. I have heard of implantation bleeding before but it seemed as if I was past all of that. I didn't have my first prenatal appointment yet, so I wasn't sure who to call. I called the closest women's clinic and called them. They scared me when they left me a voicemail saying that I should come in and make sure that the pregnancy is still active. My heart sunk. How could I have this great feeling of joy for only a week and now I'm checking to make sure it is still there? After a lot of blood work and tests I was left feeling confused. I had an ultrasound shortly after which confirmed the pregnancy was still there and showed me a sack in which the baby would grow in. My blood work showed that my progesterone levels were really low. I was immediately put on medicine for that to make sure the placenta would grow strong in order to do its duties correctly.

We had to have a follow up sonogram a couple weeks later to make sure everything was working correctly still. This time we got to see what looked like a blob and not much of anything. But we were assured that everything was looking great! At this point I am about 6 and a half weeks along. Very early.

My 7th week mark rolled around and I was greeted by my first "symptom" of pregnancy. All was going well that day. I had planned to grab some Chipotle with a couple co workers for lunch. It sounded amazing! I took one bite of my burrito bowl and took a mad dash to the restroom. After a lovely wave of "morning sickness" I walk out of the restroom to what felt like everyone staring at me. I was asked if I needed to go home. Normally if I got sick like that I would feel like crap and go home, but this time was weird! I felt completely normal! In fact I felt way better than I did earlier and I didn't even know I felt bad earlier!

My nausea lasted for a really long time. It still kicks in whenever it feels like it. Some smells really irritate me, since my sniffer has been on pointe this whole time! I can smell cucumbers being cut in another room!

We went through our milestones; seeing the heartbeat, hearing the heartbeat, and finally seeing our baby look like a baby! We had a big day a couple of weeks ago where we got to find out the sex of the baby and have it measured through a ultrasound. Everything looked great and super healthy! As soon as the technician touched my belly to bring up the ultra sound, our baby waved at us. It was the cutest thing!

Us at the doctor's office after we found out the sex. We decided to wear the color of what we thought it was!

We then took a trip to Florida with my family. We kept the sex of the baby a secret from them, so we could surprise them with a cake with the appropriate color on the inside.

AND IT IS A....

 

 

BOY!!!!! We are so excited! Shaun guessed right. I thought it was a girl the whole time!
We have come up with a name already which is Jamison. We can't wait to meet him!

 

Some facts about my pregnancy:

 

Cravings: All kids Cereal, Pizza all day everyday, after pizza usually comes some form of chocolate, tropical fruits, and red wine (which obviously I can't have). I will smell someone's if they are drinking it. Strange but it makes me happy. Jalapenos I am really digging now. They will give me heartburn, but sometimes it's worth it.

 

Sleep: I started sleeping with a pillow between my knees. I have always been a side sleeper which is good for pregnancy, but now I seem to wake up every time I switch sides. My natural alarm clock is usually around 5am to go to the bathroom. I have also been a sleepy person, but I could fall asleep in a matter of seconds if given a pillow and blanket.

 

 

 



 

We had a great trip in St. Augustine, Florida with family. I fell in love with a boutique that sold some baby items. I went a handful of times to purchase some baby items for Jamison. Shaun got to play a lot of golf and I got some beach time and got to take fun pictures of my nieces and nephew. Here are a few of our favorite pictures.

 

 

A beautiful sunset one of the mornings!

 

My sisters and I

 

The kiddos of the family. Can't wait for Jamison to join in!

Playing Catch Up

Hello all!

I want to make a promise to you and myself that I will write this blog more often than I have been the past year! Where has this year gone?

To catch you all up to speed on what has been happening with us!

We have made it to our first anniversary. It was a lovely day that we got to enjoy together. I had a good friend of mine (who made our wedding cake) make it again for us to enjoy! It was just as delicious as the first bite one year ago!

We also got to share some exciting news with friends and family that day. We are expecting!! Baby K will make it's appearance in December of 2014. We are over the moon. Below is the picture we used to announce. The chalkboard states: "one year ago, you and me became we, now we are 3". Around this time I was just about to hit my second trimester.

 

We will find out the sex of the baby in a couple of weeks. I am starting to get a little anxious about finding out! I used to feel early on that it was a girl. Honestly now I haven't a clue which it might be. Shaun is pulling for a boy, so we shall see!

 

Can't hide the bump anymore!

 

 

 

The next step of big news that we had to share is that we bought our first house together! The timing worked out pretty we for us which was nice! We have been living in it for about three weeks now. Our dog daisy loves to run in the backyard. She has never had the chance to run free as a bird before!

 

 

Daisy while moving in!

 

 

 

One last thing that I would like to share is that I am working on a photography business. It is called Laura Kellar Photo + Design. I specialize in taking photos of newborns, maternity, family, children and pets. I enjoy capturing those special moments that go by so quickly. It is slow going right now but my goal is to eventually have this business as my full time job instead of a side job. I also work as an optician, selling eyewear at an eye doctor's office. In posts to come I will share more photos. For now, here is my website. www.laurakellarphotoanddesign.com

 

 



A photo I took of my nieces and nephew for my mom to have above her mantel. We will have to get an updated one for her come December! ;)



 



 

 

 



6-1-2013 The day we bcame Mr. & Mrs.

Here are a few pictures of our special day!

 

Getting Ready:

 

It was an bright and early morning for us on the morning of June 1st. My bridesmaids and I got ready at my parents house. My mom was a sweetheart and made us all a nice breakfast to get the day started. My hair stylist and friend Victoria came to doll us up! She is so great with hair and she even did my make up! We spent a few months oohing over the hair style we decided on for this special day. She helped make me the prettiest I have ever felt! Shaun and the guys go ready at the church.

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Look:

Shaun and I decided to see one another before the ceremony. The reason being that we knew we would be so excited to see each other that we wanted to capture those moments on camera. We have it on video as well! So we will always have that. Even though we peeked before the ceremony, we still got a little misty-eyed when I walked down the isle.

My dress is from David's Bridal and my shoes are from Macy's. Shaun's tux is from Men's Warehouse.

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding Ceremony:

The ceremony was held at Holy Trinity Catholic Church. I got confirmed at this church so it made it special for us to enter the Holy Sacrament of Marriage. We had Deacon Stuart marry us, since he is the one we met with in the beginning of our journey. The church is so beautiful that we chose to not have many flowers as decorations. We handmade our program inserts with cardstock and navy ribbons.

Our colors were navy, hot pink and grey. The Bridesmaids wore navy dresses from Victoria's Secret. I always hear that saying..."you can always wear them again." I wanted to mean it! They also wore hot pink pumps from Payless Shoes. Our flower girl was my niece Lillian, who wore a children's Neiman Marcus dress. It was featured at Target as a designer collection around last Christmas, and I knew we had to get it! I liked that it was unique and something flowy that would make her feel pretty! The Groomsmen all had matching suits from Men's Warehouse. Grey on the outside with a navy vest and tie.

 

 

 
 

 

Our Wedding Party:

For the bridal party, we did not want to have a big one. I have three sisters as it is. My oldest sister Amy was unfortunately not able to be in the wedding. In fact, she was due to have her first baby at any moment! We were all hoping it would be the day of the wedding. So I have my maid of honor, Julie who is the youngest of my sisters. Kimmy, my middle sister as a bridesmaid, and my best friend since first grade (practically my blood sister) as my other bridesmaid.

The Best man's name is also Sean (only spelled different). Todd my sister Kimmy's husband as a groomsman and Eric, Shaun's childhood friend as a groomsman.

We took pictures in down town Kansas City. We wanted an urban feel to our wedding photos. We also had a fun shoot with the men all wearing different super hero shirts. Shaun has always loved Superman. So we got him a cape and some shirts and had a little fun!

 

 

 

Our Reception Details:

The reception was at the Dark Horse Distillery in Lenexa, Kansas. It is an amazing place that distills their own whiskey and vodka. The site is really interesting because you can see the distillery through windows. Three descriptive words for this place is; whiskey, leather and wood. This is how my dad described it when he first saw it. They have a saloon type bar room that we used for socializing. They even made signature cocktails for us that evening. My favorite was the whiskey-rita. Basically a margarita with whiskey in it.

One of my favorite parts about the space was the outside patio. It had a fire pit and ball lights outside so people could hang out and smoke cigars at night!

The cake was made to look like the pleated part of my gown. We also had cupcakes for our guests to enjoy. A lovely woman that I used to work with made all of them out of one oven in her own home. Everyone was blown away from the tastes she created!

 

 

 

Reception:

The party it's self was so much fun! I don't think I have ever had that much fun in my life! We had a DIY photo booth set up in the social area. We handmade the props and had a polaroid camera. The idea was to have a person take a picture of a group of people and stick the polaroid in a book and write their name and a message. Later on I flipped through the book and could tell it was a big hit!

Shaun and I had our first dance as a married couple to the song "I won't give up" by Jason Mraz. My dad and I dance to "You make me feel so young" by Frank Sinatra. Shaun and his mom danced to "Somewhere over the rainbow".

One of the highlights of the dance party was Shaun coming out of no where with his club master shades on. Looking identical to the guy who sings "Gotham style". He even did the exact dance too!

We had a grand finale exit with sparklers. The pictures turned out great for this! The only thing I would change is having Shaun in his tux for that instead of the superman shirt we used for the funny pictures. We joke that it looks like I stole someone from the party to kiss at the end of the night. But oh well...it's the moments.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We would like to thank all of our family and friends who were both there and could not make it. It was the best day of our lives!

 

Also a huge thank you to Abundant Life Photography and Orange Hat films for capturing our wedding so beautifully! To watch our wedding video click this link! https://vimeo.com/72334334