Kevan Got A DEER!!!

Today is going to be a busy day but before it starts I just wanted to share my husbands exciting news. He went hunting Monday and Tuesday with my Dad and shot his first buck. Apparently he is quite the dead eye, but you will have to ask him all about it. I just wanted to share the pictures!Yup thats a 10 point!

In other news, I thought it was time for a blog change. It will be winter on the blog, whether it feels like it outside or not.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas and gets to spend some great time with family.

Christmas time is here

Being our first Christmas together as a married couple Katie and I have had the opportunity to learn a few let's call them quirks about one another. First instance, in my opinion Christmas is not Christmas without a real tree...real in the sense that it grew out of the ground and once lived. I will be the first to admit a real tree is a hassle. For one they are not cheap, not easily transported, you must find a stand that fits it, then hurry to find another stand that fits it after the first stand you thought would fit it doesn't and you are taking turns holding the tree up in the living room while help is on the way (it's nice to have parents two minutes away sometimes), string the lights yourself, water it three times a day, and after all of this it dies and you toss it to the curb only to do it all again the following year.

After typing out that list I hesitated a moment and thought to myself, why do we get a real tree...and then it hit me, it literally hit me, it's the smell! The very smell of Christmas that you can't ignore every time you walk into the house after a long day.

(it's an 8 foot noble fir purchased from the Whitehouse High School band fundraiser)

(hard to take a clear picture of the lights without the flash)

What I have learned about Katie through out this process is that Katie doesn't like Christmas. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true, and yes it is sad. Working retail ruined her on Christmas music all together which next to the tree is one of the best aspects of the holiday season. She could care less about the tree real or fake at this point, claims that Christmas colors do not "go" with our house decor, and is already tired of fighting the holiday traffic that appears in Tyler every Friday after Thanksgiving and continues non stop until Christmas. So none the less I was given the duty of blogging about Christmas for this year, and until her heart grows three sizes, every year in the years to come.

As much as I have given Katie a hard time she did put together our tree skit after giving up on finding one anywhere in town which is my opinion came out looking awesome.

Our stockings which were purchased at eleven thirty on a Tuesday night. We almost didn't get to have stockings this year.

Finally a plate of holiday cookies from Beth Hopkins annual cookie party. Thanks Lola!

Cake Balls

A few weeks ago Kevan came home telling me how much he loved Cake Balls. He had tried them at work and thought they were great (he does not usually like cake). So of course I had to make them if they were so good. You start with a box of cake mix, frosting and chocolate bark.


Then you bake the cake by the box directions. Once cooled combine with frosting and mix well. (I know, this doesn't look appetizing)


Next, melt the chocolate, and dip the balls (or roll them around) in the chocolate. I used tooth picks to help move them.
Then refrigerate til they harden.
I learned a couple of trick along the way.
-Keep them small, it makes them easier to work with.
- Use white cake if you want white on the outside. It is a much cleaner look.

I was told about this website and I just thought it was too cute not to share.
Bakerella

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!

Art Projects

Coming up this week is the Thanksgiving Feast at school. So this past weekend I spent alot of time making their Turkey/Indian Headbands. After tracing and cutting 180 little hands, my hand was pretty tired.

But I think the final product turned out really cute. I'm just hoping they will atleast wear them through the whole feast.

While I was cutting all of these Kevan decided to play ring toss with the headbands....and Lobo.

New Addition...Not That Kind

First I would like to apologize for already becoming a bad blogger. I promise to get better on updating. tonight will be a short post because we are waiting on our friends Garrison and Savannah to get here. We are excited to have our first official guests!

For tonight though I wanted to share our new furniture addition. I have been wanting a chair with some character for our living room, and after searching and bringing home fabrics. I finally found it at one of my favorite stores, Pier 1. I think it fits our house just perfect and the fabric makes me smile.


On a completely different note I would like to say how proud I am of my brother. He passed the Bar Exam this week, we are very excited for him!

New Places, New Faces

Since we moved back to Tyler Kevan and I have wanted to try new and different things. Kevan's goal has been to get involved in civic and political activities. Two weeks ago he became a member of the Tyler Traffic Safety Board with the city council. He has been to one meeting and now drives around noticing lights that need to be changed and areas that need work, (sounds like someone else in my family... Dad). On Tuesday night he went to his first Young Republicans meeting. I think it made him miss the student government at ACU with all of the procedures and Robert's Rules of Order. They were electing new officers and someone has already suggested that he be Treasurer. I'm not sure if he wants the job, but I'm pretty sure he would be good at it if he did!

My goal since moving back was to find a new job. As much as I loved the furniture discount working at Havertys, I really wanted a normal schedule. I never had realized how inconvenient working retail was until I had to work every Saturday and holidays. So when a job opening at our church to be the part time secretary became available I was so excited. I started working there the end of August and have enjoyed it so much, I couldn't ask for a better work environment. I did however need something to fill my time on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I started substitute teaching at Little People's School (the preschool at church) and after a few weeks a teacheing position became available. I am now teaching the 4 year old class and loving it. They have the funniest stories and you can't beat all the hugs. Open House was Tuesday night, and I spent the evening talking with parents about coloring and scissor skills. Definitely a far cry from picking sofa fabric and haggling over prices.

So for now we are having fun doing new things, some that we anticipated and others I never saw coming.

- I told Kevan I would contribute to this blog for him. I have never liked writing nor have I ever claimed to be very good at it. So I am doing this for him, but I hope you have enjoyed it too!

The Pilot

I've observed a new tradition that has taken root here in the Kirksey household. Along with reading the morning news and checking our e-mail, Katie and I like to view the blogs of our friends and family. After months of this routine we finally decided that it was time that we start one of our own. So here goes it...this blog will be dedicated to updating our viewers on what is currently going on in the lives of the newest set of Kirkseys; Kevan, Katie, and of course Lobo.

Katie and I will be co-writing this blog depending on who has the time and who's day was more blog worthy. We will do our very best to keep every post as entertaining as possible, while at the same time posting on a regular basis. Because if you are like us you check your list of blogs every morning...and are greatly disappointed when a friend or family member goes weeks without blogging.

We have been married for almost five months now, and are just now starting to settle into a routine. A lot has changed in the past few months and so far we have done a less then stellar job of keeping everyone up to date. We are currently living in Tyler, Tx and are excited about spending Fall in the wonderful East Texas area after being away at school in the desert that is Abilene. Our house is finally coming together and Lobo (the dog) is loving the cooler weather. We decided that we should share a few photos of our house for those of you who have not had a chance to see it since the wedding, or who haven't yet seen it at all!

View from the street...notice the flag. This happened to be the 4th of July weekend when we took the picture, we arn't normally this patriotic.

Our living room...facing the backyard.

Our living room...facing the TV.

The back of our living room...still needs some more furniture.

Our kitchen...it's small, but when you don't cook who needs a big kitchen right.

The office...not that one.

Our guest bedroom...not getting used much lately. Feel free to drop by.

Our master bedroom.

I hope you enjoyed our first blog and decide to come back so you can stay up to date with what is currently going on in the lives of the Kirkseys.