1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Hair, it’s so much fun, right? It really is. I love to run my fingers through it, to braid and to tousle it. And yet, for some reason I also just love to chop it all off.

Someday. Maybe Someday, I will once again have long hair, and I will want to remember all of the super fab hairstyles I can do with all that long hair…

Now it’s your turn! Show us your loves this week. Whether that be a fave post, collection of things, silly video, fashion post, or your kid being awesome… we want to see them all on Falling For Friday!!!!

This week we’re (once again) being joined by Lauren of The Perfect Pear blog.
I just love her.
You should too.

Rules of the Road
1. Please be kind, follow blogging etiquette and follow along with all three hosts via
GFC, Blog Lovin’, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… your call!
We just don’t want you to miss any of the goodness!!

Kelly at Westover Manor
Dawnelle at Just Dawnelle
Lauren at The Perfect Pear

Day 23
Things you’ve learned that school won’t teach you

How to slow down & enjoy the ride.
They’re only little once. They only learn how to crawl/stand/walk, cut their first tooth,
take their first turn on the swings, share a shower with daddy,
have their first haircut…once.
Slow down, enjoy the moments. Bask in the little things.
Everything else can wait.

just love
//kelly

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]]> http://www.kellywestover.com/thursdays-are-for-slowing-down-enjoying-the-ride/feed/ 0 http://www.kellywestover.com/so-yeah-this-is-how-i-feel-about-boobs-and-fear/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=so-yeah-this-is-how-i-feel-about-boobs-and-fear http://www.kellywestover.com/so-yeah-this-is-how-i-feel-about-boobs-and-fear/#comments Wed, 22 May 2013 05:08:33 +0000 Kelly http://www.kellywestover.com/?p=3455

Day 22
Rant about something.
Get up on your soapbox and tell us how you really feel.

Science is a beautiful thing.
Without it, my babies would not be here with me today.
I fully recognize and appreciate that and I believe that our scientific advancements are here to help us fulfill our larger callings in life. WIth science we are able to live fuller, longer lives. We are able to gain treatments to things today that were only dreams yesterday.

That being said, science is also a dangerous thing. If you’ve seen the movie Gattaca you know how debilitating science can render society when it is allowed to completely govern it’s people.
Are we there yet?
Are we to the Gattacan society?
Sometimes I think we are.

Take the case of Angie’s elective double mastectomy.
She had a blood test done that spit out her ‘odds’ and her ‘chances of’ getting breast cancer, the same illness that she watched her mother suffer from and eventually leave this life because of.
She allowed her fear of that pain and suffering to rule her, and thus electively deformed her body because of it.
These are harsh words, I recognize that, but they are true words nonetheless.

On that crazy day, the twins birthday, when they told me my body was failing and that they would have to deliver the twins right then and there, I was scared. I was scared that they would be too small. I was scared that their lungs wouldn’t be formed enough to sustain them. I was very, very scared that day. I allowed my doctors to deform my body and remove my babies for their safety, because my body had already hit the eject button and was in heavy labor. A labor that they would not survive because of their size.

But what if I had know that all along?
What if I had taken a test that would have told me my body was incapable of carrying these twins. What if I had let the fear of those test results rule me and had given in to them… I shudder to think of what decision could have been ‘recommended’ by my doctor if we had all known about my faulty body.

My point here isn’t that I think Angie’s decision was right or wrong.
I don’t think that because she lopped of her breasts that makes her ‘less of a woman’, and anyone who would say anything of that sort is missing the point of breasts anyway.
I have only had breast twice in my life, and those were the times they were needed to feed my babies.
Otherwise, I am flat as a washboard, but I am still all woman.
No, my point is, that I think we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be governed by fear.
We all have a higher calling here on this earth, and if we are faithful, and long suffering then we need not have the fears of man in our hearts.

On the twins’ delivery day I received a priesthood blessing not long before being cut open, and that blessing told me that my babies would be strong. That blessing gave me hope, and with that hope and I regained my faith and trust in the Lord that day. I let go of my fears and allowed his will to take over.

Cancer runs in my family too, all kinds of it. It’s scary, and hard and painful.
But it’s not always the illness that is the trial, but the way we handle it.
The Lord is shaping us.
He is calling us to a higher work.
Are we answering his call?

just love
//kelly

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// image credit //

Day 21
A list of links to your favorite posts in your archives

Bringing home a piece of my heart // He’s Home
Fighting the good fight to bring home the other half of my heart // I’ll be right back
Did you see how ginormous my belly was at just 25 weeks with twins? // 25 week style

This challenge has brought a few good ones too…
When we talked about fears // …Not being seen
And had to give some advice // Love with all your heart

And then there are those post where I just show off my babies…
Quinn playing with his cars // What Quinn wears
Twins being twins // I was planned, I was not

And, one of my all time favorite posts…
This one // Someday there won’t be

Quinn at the beach photo taken by // Christy Warnick

just love
//kelly

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Hello all you Westover readers!  It is an exciting day… getting to mingle with y’all.

I am Liz, the writer behind The Quick Journey blog. I am a wife and lover of the outdoors. I am a momma and snuggle stealer. I am blessed to live a life filled with beauty and oodles of grace. I am grateful for the trials that grow my character in ways that I could not do if the road were “smooth sailing.” I share this wonderful life with my three kids (5,3, and baby) and my handsome husband.  The beginning of our story began many years ago when we were in high school.  I cannot wait to see where our story takes us next! At The Quick Journey you will find my love for writing about my daily life, things that I am passionate about, and things that move me.

*********

Lately, there has been a sweet slowness to life.  We finished homeschooling for the year, and now we are enjoying each other’s company and the lazy mornings.

I get to relish in all the sibling love that goes on during the day {I try to forget all the sibling rivalry}.

We usually spend an hour, or so, in our jammies before we get dressed for the day.  That time is spent sharing dreams we had the night before, getting our morning kisses from the babe, and filling our empty tummies.

It is such a blessing to experience the changing of seasons.  We gladly bid winter farewell and welcome warmth, growth, and lots of vitamin D!

Although, school has ended for the year, we still spend a great deal of time reading and learning through books.  It is so exciting to watch my first baby read words on her own!

We spend time dropping little snacks on the floor so those little fingers can gobble them up.

These are the little lives that make my days brighter and full of laughter.
I have loved sharing a little piece of our world with you.

Be sure to stop by and visit!  I would love to have you…

Liz

blog//facebook//pinterest//email

Happy Monday!
Is that a contradiction? Happy + Monday? Maybe… But it should be a happy Monday today for sure, because today we have our May group giveaway!!!

Check out our lovely sponsors below and enter using the Rafflecopter for your chance at ALL of the prizes.
This is a winner takes all giveaway, so happy entering.
And as always, good luck!

just love
//kelly

BLOG // SHOP

BLOG // SHOP // FACEBOOK // TWITTER

SHOP

*All mandatory entries must be met in order for giveaway entrance to count*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 20
Get real
Share something you’re struggling with right now.

So here it is… There is simply not enough time for me to be the mom I want to be. At the end of the day I find that there are still toys laying around, dishes in the sink, messes to be cleaned and blog posts to be written.
But, none of that really matters. The thing that matters is that I don’t feel like I spent enough time teaching my children everything that I truly want to teach them. I didn’t have or make the time to create that really cool craft that would teach them that really cool concept or principle or whatever… And I feel bad about it.

But at the same time, I do feel like I did take the time to snuggle with them and tell them that I love them. I did take every chance possible to plant a kiss on their cheek or wrap their arms around my neck. I did leave the dishes so I could find the lost toy that was causing all the drama in all the world at that exact moment.

So… where do I go from here? I feel like I have the art of ‘showing the love’ down. There is little to no hesitation to help my children when their needs are good and true. But what about all the rest…?

For Quinn: I want to do a play school, but do I have the time to commit to that right now? Or, is the question really do I not have the time to commit to that right now. Is not doing something for Quinn now going to come back and bite me in the butt later…?

For the twins: I call them my puppies right now, because their favorite past time is to climb all over me, hang on me while trying to stand, and then climb all over each other. All. Day. Log. I feel like I’m raising a litter of puppies sometimes instead of babies, hence the nick-name. I also feel like I don’t get them out and about enough. Because, honestly, I don’t.
The hardest thing about getting all four (or five) of us out of the door is, well, getting out the door. Because… of the bags that need to get packed full of food, formula, bottles, water, diapers, toys, burp cloths, sand toys, towels… all the teeny tiny little things that if I don’t have will make my life miserable until we get home… because of all of this in conjunction with my twins + Quinn that cannot seem to give me 5 solid minutes to get it all done… It is quite often enough crazy to make me throw in the towel and simply stay home.

Do you see the crazy that goes through my mind on a daily basis?

I wish someone would come make it just a little less crazy.
That somewhere there were a pre-school or play-school package I could purchase that came complete with all the crafty goodies needed to complete the lessons.
And while I’m dreaming lets add an FHE package to this list too.
That I could have someone on call who would distract my kids for 5 minutes in the middle of the day so I could pack us up and get us out the door.
I wish that awesome photos simply happened, or better yet that someone would just follow us around and take the pictures for us. That I wouldn’t have to detract from the moment with a silly giant black thing and in doing so sometimes ruin the moment.

So yeah, there’s all that… and then some.
Maybe, I just need a nap…

just love
//kelly

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Day 19
Five of your favorite blogs and what you love about them

JUST DAWNELLE //

Her BoHo style, her outlook on life and her super adorable kids draw me in day after day.
Plus, she’s just about the sweetest person I know.

NAT THE FAT RAT //

This girl! Perfectly random + perfectly stylish.

CASEY LEIGH //

Super inspirational. Casey always speaks from the heart and is simply the sweetest,
best virtual friend any gal could ever ask for.

ANNAPOLIS & CO. //

Oh my holy moly. Mary Beth’s photos knock my socks off. Every. Stinking. Time!
And, she posts super fun stuff over at the Little Artsy Blog.

ROOTS & FEATHERS //

Because I secretly want to be a gypsy.

just love
//kelly

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]]> http://www.kellywestover.com/these-five-are-some-of-my-faves/feed/ 3 http://www.kellywestover.com/at-what-age-do-you-start-to-remember/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=at-what-age-do-you-start-to-remember http://www.kellywestover.com/at-what-age-do-you-start-to-remember/#comments Sat, 18 May 2013 06:52:21 +0000 Kelly http://www.kellywestover.com/?p=3416

Day 18
Tell a story from your childhood.

At what age do you start to remember?
They say that as soon as you are able to form words your brain is also able to formulate memories.
If that’s the case, then I have one lousy remembering brain.

I can barely remember names of people I’ve known forever, let alone recall a childhood memory.
I’m much better at faces, and generalizations.
And silly over-dramatizations.

I have memories of laughing, of sliding down the stairs with the L-shaped sofa cushions. Of putting on plays and using those same sofa cushions as part of the backdrop. Really, it was the sofa, the one with the awesome slings that held the L-shaped cushions in place, that was used as the backdrop and the cushions were used as knee pads while we performed.

I remember eating spicy mustard that one time and just about burning a hole in my mouth.
(Maybe that’s why I don’t like spicy things…?)
I remember our family hosting a japanese exchange student who made us super tasty miso soup and noodles. -I sure do love noodles- and that she got her fingers smashed in the trundle bed one day.
I remember bike rides to KFC and always having to walk my bike across the street, not ride. Memories of days spent playing at the children’s wonderland park around the corner from our Georgia Street house. And learning how to ride my bike without training wheels in the parking lot at that same house.

I remember lots of visits to Dad’s office, with his super awesome ‘mummy’ adjusting table that lifted you up and down, just like a mummy. (Dad was a chiropractor, funny eh?)
Killing time on the roller tables in the back room, while trying to stay out of Dad’s hair.
Trips to the Hostess store across the parking lot for doughnuts whenever I spent the day at Dad’s office.

I remember watching a video of me pretending to be a judge and shouting out ‘order in the court’ while whacking my mallet on the desk. Was I copying that from something? I really can’t recall.
See, silly memory of mine.

That’s one reason why I started blogging. I wanted to have a visual memory to look back at. One that my children can look at and maybe say ‘hey I remember that!’. Or even just to remember seeing the photo of them doing it, like me with the judge thing. That’s what I want. A brain, outside of my brain, recording all of the things that my mind doesn’t seem to have the room to store.

We’re more than halfway through May!
Can you believe it?!?

just love
//kelly

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Day 17
A favorite photo of yourself and why

When I look in the mirror I see that goofy little girl with smallish lips and wide blue eyes. That girl whose hair is unruly more than tame, whose neck is long and who’s silly bottom hair curls just love to wrap around it in tickley ways. Whose shirts never fit quite right because she’s flat as a wash board, but who once upon a time had muscle defined arms and now only slightly shows the memory of said muscles. That same girl who cannot wear a base ball cap because it makes her face shape all wrong, but can put on a fedora and feel right at home. Whose eyelashes strike up some interesting conversations, and whose freckles remind her of that one time she babysat the little girl who wanted to know why her skin didn’t have spots.

That’s why I love this photo.

just love
//kelly

– – –

Because I’m feeling a bit extra lazy from this crazy sinus infection I’m fighting I’m going to lump Falling For Friday into this post. It’ll be fun, you’ll see.

If you haven’t noticed already, every Friday Dawnelle and I host a blog hop we call Falling For, Friday. Its a place to come show off your fave finds from the week. Whether that be a fave post, song, blogger, cluster of things or post full of links… or whatever really, we want to see what you’ve fallen in love with!
In the spirit of super lazy, I’m only doing links this week, no pictures.
So, here we go!

Our Guest Host this week is the super fab Meagan of Because of Jackie.
Be sure to stop by and give her some love.
(ps – If you’re intersted in guest-hosting with us just drop me a line. We’d love to have you!!)

I’m back on my blog redesign kick, and I fell hard for this template.
These shoes are sooo calling my name.
I do believe all of these hats need to get in my closet!

And that’s all I have to say about that.
Now, it’s your turn!