¡Viva España!

JK and KK

Something exciting is happening in our lives, and we want you, our very best friend (yes you!) to be the first to know.

This past summer, Justin went with iGo Global, a missions organization, to spread the Gospel in Paris, France. As an adult participant, his job was to work alongside teenagers from across the state of Texas as they took part in God’s ancient work of making His name famous. Seeing the serious lack of adults willing and able to make this valuable experience possible for these students, he knew it was necessary to return in 2013 when iGo takes a team to Madrid, Spain. After Justin applied and was accepted, Kristen felt led by God to apply as well, so next year, the Kelloughs will be spreading the Good News in Madrid!

Our heart is to help teenagers experience all of the amazing work God is doing, whether it be at home, around the nation, or across the ocean. We believe in the work being done by iGo Global and can’t wait to take part in just a small portion of the incredible things they are doing. For more information on this great organization, check out their website at www.igoglobal.org.

Some of you may be wondering why we would spend so much money going overseas when there’s work to be done right across the street. We are firm believers in helping our neighbor, and working in our nation to make God famous. However, we also feel strongly that there are people specifically called to work in foreign countries to bring the lost into relationship with Jesus. Not only are the current missionaries in desperate need of additional help to make an impact in their areas of work, but there are future missionaries currently walking the halls of our high schools. These young people need only to have one little taste of spreading the Gospel overseas to embrace the plan God has for them, and we want to help make it possible. In addition, those students who don’t have a full time ministry call will come back to their home towns excited about sharing their faith with the students on their teams, in their classes, and next door.

We are pumped about how God is going to use us and the four students from Gonzales going with us, as we join people from across Texas to make Him famous. We obviously would love your support in prayer, and could definitely use monetary support as well. With $7000 to raise between the two of us, we have a long way to go. If God is leading you to help us out, visit our fundraising website at http://www.youcaring.com/fundraiser_details?fundraiser_id=12817&url=igoglobalspain

Or, if you’re looking to just write a check, email us at mrandmrskellough@gmail.com and we’ll give you the details on who to make the check out to, where to send, etc.

Finally, for our friends and family that were planning to buy us gifts for Christmas, even if it was just a card or small batch of holiday cookies, a donation to serving God in Spain next summer would go much further than the baked goods (and it’s zero calories!)

Friends

JK

I’m going to go ahead and say what everyone is thinking: “Why doesn’t the ONB have more updates?! Kristen and Justin are the two most interesting people we know and it seems like there’s nothing going on, but that can’t be true. They’re the most interesting couple in the world!”

I hear you reader, and I understand. However, the truth is, we don’t always blog, but when we do, we prefer it to be interesting. Unfortunately, the slow paced life of small town living is not chalk full of fodder for riveting blogs. So, I’ll tell you about a few of my friends who have some crazy stuff going on.

We know this one family out in San Francisco, the Bravermans, and their life is all out of control right now. Adam, the oldest of four children just sent his daughter to college, after his wife gave birth to a baby girl just last season… er… I mean year. In addition, the family continues to work through the problems their son with autism is struggling with, and Christina, Adam’s wife, just got diagnosed with breast cancer. And don’t get me started on the stuff Adam’s siblings are going through: adoption difficulties, complicated racial tensions among a mixed race marriage, and a May-December romance between one of Adam’s sisters and her son’s high school English teacher. It’s unreal! Kristen and I usually have an appointment to catch up with these dear friends on Tuesdays at 10 pm eastern (9 central).

Also, we have an “adorkable” friend living in LA who just got laid off! She is a precious and quirky elementary school teacher with awesome bangs. Struggling to find her way after losing her job, Jess really doesn’t know who she is. And her roommates, three outrageously different and peculiar men, try to help her with the situations she faces, but their efforts usually just end up in comedic outcomes so perfect, it’s as if they’re scripted by a Hollywood writer! Even through all the ups and downs, they form a close bond, supporting and loving each other in their own unique way. Jess’s life is pretty fast paced, so we usually only get about half an hour each week to visit.

Finally, I can’t let you go without telling you about our brand new friend we met just two weeks ago. She’s kind of a big deal, but we were lucky enough to make her acquaintance last Wednesday night after church. We rushed home to make the appointment at 9 pm, and we were not disappointed! Reyna Jaymes is a MEGA country star living in Nashville, being in the business for over 20 years. Here lately, her career has faltered a bit, due in large part to the rapidly changing country market, led by Juliette Barnes, a young country/pop crossover artistthat pre-teen girls can’t get enough of. A rivalry has developed between these two women on a personal and professional level, and things are just starting to heat up! Getting to know these women is as easy as “ABC” if you’ve got the time.

Because Kristen and I lead a rather average life right now, I thought you should get to know a few of our friends that keep us entertained. If you have any friends you think we should get to know, make sure to tell us! Even if their stories are kind of old, our friends Netflix and Hulu seem to know EVERYONE, and they can easily catch us up.

The Traveler's Guide to Fine Dining in Gonzales, TX

JK

I had originally planned for this blog entry to be a long list of the things I love about Kristen. However, after considering how I would have felt reading a newlywed blog about how great someone’s wife is, I burped up a little vomit. So instead, in honor of the “Come and Take It” celebration happening this weekend in Gonzales (and because I’m currently watching a “Top Chef” marathon), I present to you The Traveler’s Guide to Fine Dining in Gonzales, TX.

The annual “Come and Take It” festival is a celebration of Texas history in Gonzales, TX, nestled in the south-central region of the Lone Star State, just east of San Antonio, and 15 minutes south of the giant Buccee’s in Luling. In 1831, the colony of Gonzales borrowed a cannon from the Mexican army. Six years later, they wanted it back. In the spirit of not being told what to do, the Texans refused to turn the cannon over, taking up the cry, “Come and take it!” In the resulting skirmish, the Mexicans attempted to come and take it, initially failing to reclaim the stolen property, only to later get the cannon back in a terrifyingly successful victory for them at the Alamo. And now we have a festival with car shows, a carnival, various eating contests, and a lot of things to waste your money on.

While taking in the history on your visit this weekend, there are a few eating establishments you won’t want to miss. The following is a list you will want to reference when meal times come around.

1.    Whataburger- There is absolutely nothing special about the Whataburger in Gonzales. It’s not the oldest, the biggest, fastest, or even orangest Whataburger in Texas, but it’s easily the best place to enjoy a meal within the city limits. And on Fridays and Saturdays, the drive through is open 24 hours!

2.    The Rodeo- The 7500 people of Gonzales are served by 15 to 20 generic Mexican food restaurants, and The Rodeo is easily the best mediocre Mexican food within the 5.1 square miles of Gun Town. Their tortillas taste almost like they were made on site, and on most days, the refried beans are thicker than diarrhea. If you only eat one thing, which you probably won’t want to eat any more than that, order the Chicken Chimichanga. Essentially a deep fried burrito stuffed with cheese and meat, this dish is not disgusting.

3.    Robert’s Steak House- Although “technically” it’s located 30 minutes away in Flatonia, Gonzales claims this restaurant as their own because allegedly, at one time, this establishment was supposed to be in Gonzales. Or, it was in Gonzales, but relocated. Or the owners one time visited Gonzales. Whatever. The food here is very edible, especially the baked sweet potatoes, and anything deep-fried.

In between perusing 50 or so craft booths selling the same generic Pinterest crap, and enjoying the music of unknown Texas country bands, make sure to hit up these establishments this weekend while in town for the “Come and Take It” festival.

Small town discoveries

KK

I have decided to keep a running list of all the things I learn and/or notice about living in a ridiculously small (or as some say, "po-dunk") town.  Here is what I have so far:

1.  I can leave my house 2 minutes before I have to be at work (or anywhere for that matter) and still make it on time, and sometimes be early.  

2.  I see my students everywhere.  Like...literally everywhere.  Walmart, heb, football games, the gym, church...and that's about all the places I go. 

3.  I get excited about the possibility of going to Target on weekends.  

4.  Everyone is related to someone.

More will be added, I assure you, but that's all I can think of for now.  

Excellence Pursued

Excellence Pursued

JK

Having been married for 31 days or so, I’d day that I’ve pretty much got this marriage stuff figured out. I am an excellent husband. I eat the food she cooks, I let her sit by me when I’m watching TV, and I have made the bed for 80% of our married life (as in, I make the bed 80% of the days that it needs to be made, not I make the bed 80% of the way, only to give up on the last 20%. Well, except for the days when I neglect to replace the decorative pillows. Sometimes throwing those last 15 pillows on there seems a bit superfluous).

You ladies out there are probably getting a bit jealous, in which case, please take a moment to repent. Don’t feel bad, but understand that the reason I’m such an excellent husband is because of the incredible amount of pressure there is to be excellent when every single moment of my personal life is being shared by someone else. All kidding aside, I will spend the rest of my life trying to figure out how to be excellent for Kristen to the glory of God, and it has already started. I woke up one day last week with this incredible feeling of reality bearing down on me. I realized what every married person has been trying to make me understand is true: being married is hard. It’s not that I’ve done anything majorly wrong yet (although I’m always one sarcastic remark away), but I’ve just been average. In my life BK (“before Kristen”) I was able to spend hours on my own, consuming massive amounts of television, facebook, twitter, Netflix, etc. In my life AK (“After Kristen”) this is no longer an acceptable use of my time. In all actuality, in my life BK, wasting that much time wasn’t acceptable either, but it took some vows and a live-in roommate with intimate access to every part of my being to help me fully understand that. With Kristen around, mediocrity is no longer an option, and I realized the other day how mediocre I actually am. This is truly the highest form of accountability I will ever face, and Kristen is God’s reminder to me that even when I’m alone, my every move is always being observed. In a passage devoted specifically to marriage, Proverbs 5:21 says:

“For a man’s ways are before the Lord’s eyes,
and He considers all his paths.”

I know that every choice and action I’ve ever made has been seen by God, but having this living, breathing representation of constant observation has added a whole new level of accountability. I am pumped to see the man I am years down the road thanks entirely to the positive influence of a beautiful and godly woman walking beside me every step of the way. Justin BK was pretty good, but Justin AK is taking glorifying God to an entirely new level.

Changes

KK

Before you start reading, I feel like I should warn you that this post is basically me vomiting my feelings on you.  So get ready.  Throughout the past week or so I have found myself growing out of the fairy tale idea that I am officially a "grownup".  While the idea is still cool, the reality is terrifying and uncomfortable.  I think the most uncomfortable thing I have ever done with my life up to this point has been moving a little over an hour away for college.  Even so, I was home more weekends than not.  I don't handle change very well.  I like routine and knowing what's going to happen.  I have always wished I could be one of those girls who is crazy and spontaneous, but let's face it, I'm just not.  Sometimes I feel like I'm borderline boring, nay, lame.  However, with people I'm comfortable around, that's a totally different story.  Those of you keeping up with this blog would probably fall in that category and are thinking, "Kristen, you shut your dirty mouth! You are the life of the party!" While usually I would have to agree, this week I have felt like anything but that.  The novelty of having a new grownup job, a house to take care of, moving to a new town, etc. has begun to wear off.  Thankfully, I have found nothing boring about the marriage part of this equation.  I am constantly amazed at how blessed I am by his love and leadership.  I understand it sounds like I have nothing to be complaining about, and realistically, I don't.  Nothing that is new to me right now is a bad thing.  But that's just it...it's new.  Very few things about my life right now are familiar to me.  I feel as if I have been ripped away from everything that's comfortable to me and put in a place where I have to basically start over.  I find myself craving familiarity.  The other day, I bought some bars of dove soap, because that's what I've been buying for years.  I opened one of the boxes when I got home and my response was probably unlike anyone else who has ever opened a box of soap.  I didn't cry or anything, but like eating Special K cereal in the morning, painting my toes on the couch, or even wearing my retainer, I have found that little things that are familiar to me have become special.  That also goes for spending time with Justin.  Being around him makes me feel like I'm home.  And not home as in Round Rock.  Home, as in that's where I'm supposed to be.  He has been so sweet and understanding through this huge transition for me.  I could not imagine going through it with anyone else.  And the Lord has been teaching me through everything I've been going through.  I have been resisting being joyful.  He is making me aware of the things I have to be thankful for.  I have complained about Target and Starbucks being nearly an hour away.  He is allowing us to save money.  I have missed having numerous friends to hang out with at any time.  He has reminded me that it is a blessing to be able to spend essentially all of my free time with Justin, and that someday when we have kids, we will so badly want to have the alone time that we now have plenty of.  This new way of life will undoubtedly be a process getting used to. But might as well embrace it and choose to be joyful instead of letting myself be miserable.  The change will keep happening whether I like it or not. I can find things to be thankful for, or complain about it.  

Thanks for reading! Now you may go get a towel to wipe off the emotions you are drenched in. Have a great rest of the week :)

Exciting news!

JK

Kristen and I have some VERY exciting news to tell you. We’ve already told a few important people that just had to know, but now we are ready to let everyone know that we are expecting our first child! In 5-7 years of course, but still, we are expecting that, in this time frame, we will hopefully have our first child.

One of the strangest things I’ve encountered since entering wedded bliss is the realization that, if we wanted (or if God wanted), we could be parents in less than a year. We’ve made the proper commitment before God, officially changed Kristen’s name, and now have the insurance to cover all the crazy things that happen in a woman’s body. So if we so desired, we could take the steps necessary to bring a baby into the world. None of the aforementioned things we have done in recent weeks are requirements to create life of course, but they are necessary steps to help making babies a bit easier, in addition to receiving God’s blessing with the whole “making vows” thing. All that to say if God so willed it, we could have a kid, which is an outrageous thought. However, even though the concept of us being parents at this point in our lives is absolutely ludicrous, it doesn’t mean we haven’t thought about it.

Our first child will be a boy and his name will be Bear. No superfluous middle name is needed with such a name, so he will simply be called Bear Kellough. Eventually, he may even drop the surname, much like our friends Oprah and Lil’ Jon. A moniker with such ferocity is sure to make our son’s life one for the history books, and we look forward to the bones he will crush in football and the diseases he will cure through the medical research he aggressively pursues with the same tenacity with which his namesake chases lost hikers.While other boys his age will be getting their learner’s permits, Bear will be trying out for the U.S. Olympic team. He will not make the team at first, not because he won’t be good enough, but because he will see the passion with which the older competitors have worked toward this honor, and he will choose to hold back at the last second, graciously waiting another 4 years before winning gold in the 400 meter freestyle swimming competition, the triple jump, and all around men’s gymnastics. He will not waste any time on the winter Olympics, understanding that competitions based on sliding down a hill strapped to wooden planks of various shapes and sizes is for lesser men.

His name will lead him to develop a mindset which does not take into consideration the possibility of failing, so he will excel at everything, especially winning souls for Christ. Billy Graham was pretty good at persuading people to follow Jesus, but Bear will so ferociously spread the Gospel that he will literally become the aroma of Christ; his peers will smell the musk of Salvation on his person and quickly submit their lives to the Lord without Bear having to speak a word. It will be quite impressive, but Bear’s greatness will be rivaled only by his humility, so he will quickly give all glory to God for any eternal victories that may be reaped. From birth he will understand that any success he has in life will be directly from the hand of God; we won’t have to teach him this truth, of course, but God will allow Kristen and I to tell him these things, so we feel like we were usedin some small way to create such an excellent human being.

Now, Kristen and I are fully aware that there’s no way we can plan all these things out. Even if God does decide to graciously give us a son, he may be small, timid, and have an unreasonable fascination with video games. In which case, we’ll give him the nickname Teddy.

The pleasantries

KK

Justin was correct.  I will not be writing about poop.  This time.  Instead, I will give you a more pleasant reading experience, since the primary readers of this blog will inevitably be our moms.

Prior to getting married, I really didn't know much of what to expect.  I don't have brothers, so besides my dad, I have never lived with a boy.  He's a pretty private person anyway, so I would hardly even count that.  I guess if I was expecting anything, it would be that living with a boy would prove to be a huge adjustment.  On the contrary.  It actually hasn't been too different.  The adjustment has been limited to finally realizing how much time I spend in the shower and not being able to sleep sprawled out diagonally across the bed like I'm used to.  The past few weeks have been filled with practicing my cooking, decorating our house, and working through all the nonsense of getting my name changed.  Oh, and starting my new teaching job.  Today was the first day of school and it went surprisingly well! I was rather nervous seeing as I can be quite a pushover at times.  What I could see happening was me nicely introducing myself to the class and getting a response of farts and eye rolls.  Neither of those things happened, praise the Lord.  One precious little girl told me I had a cool last name.  I told her I just got it a few weeks ago, and she was quite excited and showered me with congratulations. Ok, perhaps that's an exaggeration.  Overall, it was a smooth day and each class got easier as the day progressed.  We decided on a first day of school tradition.  As I am typing, we are watching Mean Girls.  Justin suggested this because no matter how bad I think my first day of school could be, it most likely would never be as bad as Cady Heron's...or hopefully Ms. Norberry's (think of the scene where she spills coffee all over her sweater).

I guess there's not much else to say about our first two weeks of marriage.  We will continue to document our adventures.  Thanks for reading!

Welcome

JK

 

Today at Target I had an excellent poop. Kristen was searching through a seemingly endless clearance section, and, recognizing the extended amount of unoccupied time I would need to fill, I told her I was going to my office to take care of some business and would catch up with her later. Of all the public places to take care of such business, I would have to say that Target ranks among the top, second only to the bathrooms on the first floor of the children’s building at Central Baptist Church in Round Rock (on weekdays, of course). I’m not sure how the female population handles such procedures during outings, but for me, and I assume most other males, there are certain places that you feel more comfortable vacating your bowels.

During the years I studied at The University of Texas at Austin, I had a few “private pooping places.” Now that I have moved on, I can comfortably inform you that the last stall in the men’s room at the Fine Arts Library, and the first stall in the men’s room on the first floor of the Geology building were my primary PPPs of choice. The Fine Arts library was nice because it was close to the Theatre building (where I spent most of my time) but large enough that I was less likely to run into someone I know. The Geology building is next door to the Theatre building, and this offered the perfect amount of privacy because the building is largely vacant due to the completely uninteresting subject matter studied there. No one lounges with their geology buddies in the lobby, because geologists do most of their socializing while playing in the dirt together, of which there is none inside the building. This is in contrast to the Theatre building, who’s “Atrium” (main lobby) was constantly full of aspiring actors, designers, and dancers who, let’s be honest, were probably homeless. All that to say, my building where I spent most of my time had far too much traffic to allow for private, uninterrupted, bowel movements.

Now that you’ve made it this far, I can officially welcome you to the Kellough Marriage blog. It seems that once you get married, there’s an unspoken rule that you must document the on goings of your life, whether they be mundane or outrageously exciting. My assumption for the reasoning behind this cultural standard is that mothers very much want to know everything that’s happening, and their children very much want to avoid recounting every boring detail via phone. A blog allows us to share all the details while doing other things, such as pooping, which would not be socially acceptable during a phone conversation, or a regular conversation for that matter. Just know that for my blog entries, you will occasionally get a topic that is slightly repulsive. Nothing worse than what you just endured of course, but I’ll leave the pleasantries for Kristen, who probably would never write about something as base as pooping, primarily because I don’t think she actually defecates. After two weeks of marriage, she has successfully hidden this part of her life, leading me to assume, as all men did when they were boys, that girls don’t poop. If you care about our lives, or hope to kill some time while avoiding work or studying, feel free to check back every now and then for the latest musings of Mr. and Mrs. Kellough.